This very small fruit bat is distinguished by having pale-coloured lips and three white patches on the head, one on the forehead and one behind each eye.

The fur is soft, dense and fluffy; the dorsal pelage is medium-brown to rusty brown, the flanks are medium to greyish-brown and the chest and belly are whitish to pale grey, with scantier, stiffer hairs.

In general, it is known from all the locations where Pohle's fruit bat (Casinycteris ophiodon) occurs, and some additional ones.

It sometimes occurs in forest-savanna mosaic zones but avoids large clear-felled areas.

In the Congo Basin, it is often found in degraded secondary growth forest where the understorey is dominated by Haumania liebrechtsiana.