#kha-nyou

[critter-creature-or-beast]

This is a...

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Voting ended onSep 15, 2025

Image 1 by Royle Safaris, CC BY-NC

Image 2 By Jean-Pierre Hugot - http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0048145 (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0048145), Figure 2., CC BY 2.5

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Kha-nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus)

(Photo from Zoo Praha)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Central Laos

Size (Weight/Length)- 40 cm

Diet- Grasses; Leaves; Seeds

Cool Facts- Despite being a rodent, the kha-nyou, also known as the Laotian rock rat, is unique from all other rodents due to their relatedness with ancient, fossilized rodents. In fact, the closest relative of these rats was alive over 11 million years ago. The kha-nyou was officially described after being found in a food market in 2005. Little is known about their reclusive lifestyle outside of them being nocturnal and primarily herbivores. Kya-nyou have a waddle walk due to splayed feet that help them to climb over large boulders. Conservation groups are exploring Laos for further knowledge of the kha-nyou with the hope of finding fossilized remains to fill in that 11 million year gap.

Rating- 11/10 (Kinda squirrely, kinda ratty, kinda adorable.)

[comixqueen]

SO turns out I forgot to post my 2016 inktobers here? ;u;

I chose “recently extinct species” as a theme because I wanted to hurt myself I have a morbid love and fascination with these animals I will never see alive. After day 1 it became clear to me that I needed something to keep this project from becoming a sob-fest, so I decided to alternate between recently extinct and Lazarus taxa.

I didn’t finish, as you can see. It’s even obvious where I lost steam haha.

Species list under the cut:

Dodo (Raphus cucullatus) Extinct circa 1662

Cuban Solenodon (Solenodon cubanus) Declared extinct in 1970 but rediscovered in subsequent years.

Steller’s Sea Cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) Extinct since 1768, only 27 years after its discovery by Europeans.

New Caledonian Crested Gecko (Correlophus ciliatus) Thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1994.

Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis) Extinct circa 1844 when the last breeding pair was killed on the island of Eldey.

West Indian Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae). Coelacanths were thought to have gone extinct in the Late Cretaceous, but were accidentally rediscovered in 1938.

Pig-footed Bandicoot (Chaeropus ecaudatus) Extinct sometime in the 1950s.

Laotian Rock Rat or Kha-nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus) Considered to be distinct from all living rodents, its closest relatives went extinct in the Miocene, 11 million years ago.

Quagga (Equus quagga quagga) The last captive specimen died in 1883.

Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti) Not seen after 1884 and considered extinct until it was rediscovered in 1997.

Laughing Owl (Sceloglaux albifaces) Extinct circa 1914.

Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) Thought extinct in 1898, rediscovered in 1948.

Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris) Depicted here is a female. Last official, confirmed sighting was made December 28th, 1907.

[ainawgsd]

Laotian Rock Rat

The Laotian rock rat or kha-nyou (Latin: Laonastes aenigmamus), sometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a rodent species of the Khammouan region of Laos. Upon their initial discovery, Jenkins and coauthors (2005) considered the Laotian rock rat to represent a completely new family. Jenkins et al. (2004) did not compare the specimens to known rodent fossils. After such a comparison, Dawson et al. (2006) were of the opinion that the Laotian rock rat belongs to a previously described family which had only been known from fossils, the Diatomyidae. The discovery of the Laotian rock rat means an 11 million-year gap exists in the fossil record where no diatomyids have been found. Mary Dawson described Laonastes as the "coelacanth of rodents".

The animals resemble large, dark rats with hairy, thick tails like those of a squirrel. Their skulls are very distinctive and have features that separate them from all other living mammals. The genus name for this animal, Laonastes, means "inhabitant of stone." This is in reference to its presence around limestone rocks and also to the country where it was recently discovered. The specific epithet aenigmamus means "enigma mouse" referring to its unknown position among the rodents.

Laotian rock rats are found in regions of karst limestone. They appear to be found only among limestone boulders on hillsides. Villagers in the area are familiar with the animal, calling it kha-nyou, and trapping it for food. The animals are presumed to be nocturnal. Laotian rock rats appear to be quite docile and slow-moving over open ground. They walk with feet splayed outward in a gait described as duck-like. Although not ideal for mobility on open surfaces, this appears to be efficient when scrambling up and across large rocks, the sideways angle allowing for greater surface area for their feet to find purchase on angled surfaces. These rock rats appear to be predominantly herbivores, eating leaves, grass and seeds. They may eat insects, as well, but probably not in high abundance.

The first specimens were found for sale as meat at a market in Thakhek, Khammouan, in 1996. Remains of three additional animals were obtained in 1998 from villagers and in an owl pellet. Return trips to Laos by the Wildlife Conservation Society researchers uncovered several other specimens. hese new discoveries have prompted the suggestion that the animals may not be as rare as once thought

[animal--facts]

Laotian rock rat  see info