The Laotian rock rat or Kha nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus) is a small mammal species that was discovered in Central Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) in 1996. After this discovery, the Laotian rock rat was recognized as a living fossil of the family Diatomyidae, other members of which have been extinct more than 11 million years. Previous studies have been limited to the taxonomy of the species, but information on its behavior and ecology is still lacking. Our study on home range size and movement distances of the Laotian rock rat was conducted using radio tracking in Mouang-doy village, Phou Hin Poun National Biodiversity Conservation Area, central Lao PDR. We equipped four live-trapped Laotian rock rats (3 males and 1 female) with radio collars between December 2009 and January 2011. Radio-collared animals were tracked every thirty minutes and for at least five consecutive days per month. The averaged home ranges of the Laotian rock rat in the dry season and in the wet season were 1.69 ha (SD = 0.53; n = 4) and 1.49 ha (SD = 0.46; n = 3), respectively, and were not significantly different. The home ranges of radio-collared Laotian rock rats overlapped among individuals, and overlapped area between pairs of animals ranged from 30.21 to 75.89%. The mean daily movement distances were 1602 m (SD = 150.13; n = 3 individuals) and 1578 m (SD = 52; n = 3 individuals) for the dry season and the wet season, respectively, with no statistically significant difference. This study also indicated that the Laotian rock rat is cathemeral. We would suggest additional studies to better understand the behavioral ecology of the Laotian rock rats, especially with regards to the comparison between sexes and social organization.

中文翻译：

---

使用无线电遥测技术识别“活化石”的栖息地和日常活动：老挝岩鼠（Laonastes aenigmamus）

老挝岩鼠或 Kha nyou (Laonastes aenigmamus) 是一种小型哺乳动物，于 1996 年在老挝中部人民民主共和国 (Lao PDR) 被发现。在这一发现之后，老挝岩鼠被公认为鼠科的活化石，其他成员已经灭绝超过1100万年。以前的研究仅限于该物种的分类，但仍缺乏有关其行为和生态的信息。我们在老挝中部 Phou Hin Poun 国家生物多样性保护区 Mouang-doy 村使用无线电跟踪对老挝岩鼠的栖息地大小和移动距离进行了研究。我们在 2009 年 12 月至 2011 年 1 月期间为 4 只活捉的老挝岩鼠（3 只雄性和 1 只雌性）配备了无线电项圈。每 30 分钟追踪一次戴无线电项圈的动物，每月至少连续追踪 5 天。老挝岩鼠在旱季和雨季的平均栖息地分别为 1.69 公顷（SD = 0.53；n = 4）和 1.49 公顷（SD = 0.46；n = 3），并且没有显着差异. 戴无线电项圈的老挝岩鼠的栖息范围在个体之间重叠，成对动物之间的重叠面积在30.21%到75.89%之间。旱季和雨季的平均每日移动距离分别为 1602 m（SD = 150.13；n = 3 个人）和 1578 m（SD = 52；n = 3 个人），差异无统计学意义。这项研究还表明老挝岩鼠是通灵的。我们建议进行更多研究以更好地了解老挝岩鼠的行为生态学，