Mammals of the WorldKha-nyou
Laonastes aenigmamus
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Diatomyidae
- Genus
- Laonastes
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Laos|Vietnam
- Realm
- Indomalaya
Other names: Annamite Rat|Laotian Rock Rat|Truong Son Rat
About this species
- Range
- Khammouan region of Laos; also Vietnam
The Laotian rock rat, or kha-nyou, sometimes called the 'rat-squirrel', is a species of rodent found in the Khammouan region of Laos. It was first described in a 2005 article by Paulina Jenkins and colleagues, who considered it so distinct from all living rodents that they placed it in a new family, Laonastidae, in the monotypic genus Laonastes (Wikipedia, general species account).
In 2006 its classification was disputed: Mary Dawson and colleagues suggested it belongs to the ancient fossil family Diatomyidae, thought to have been extinct for 11 million years, which would make it a Lazarus species. The animals resemble large, dark rats with thick, furred tails like a squirrel's, though limp, and their skulls are very distinctive.
Description: Wildlife of Vietnam guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)