Laotian rock rat

The Laotian rock rat, also called the kha-nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus), is a rodent found in limestone karst regions of Khammouan and southern Bolikhamxai provinces in Laos and in Minh Hoa district in Vietnam Quang Binh province, where it lives among limestone boulders on hillsides. It was formally described in 2005 by Paulina Jenkins and colleagues, and proved so distinct from other living rodents that scientists placed it in an entirely new family, Laonastidae, within a genus, Laonastes, that holds only this one species. It looks like an oversized dark rat with a thick, hairy, squirrel-like tail, and its skull carries features that set it apart from every other living mammal. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.