The ground color is whitish to orange buff, usually lighter and more buffy below, and the tail is usually black. The hair on the back of the neck is reversed, in that the tips of the hairs point forward. The five-toed feet have strongly curved claws that are retractile like those of cats. Small scent glands are present. In H. hosei head and body length is about 600 mm and tail length is about 300 mm.
Coloration is dark brown or black above and grayish, yellowish white, or slightly rufescent below.
The ears are thinly haired and white inside. A buffy gray patch extends from above the eye to the cheek and terminates where it meets the white of the lips and throat. The inner side of the limb near the body is grayish, while the remainder of each limb is black. The tail is not banded but is dark throughout. He observed that the animals were exclusively nocturnal and apparently foraged on the forest floor, picking up food from the surface.