Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Cladus: Synapsida
Cladus: Eupelycosauria
Cladus: Sphenacodontia
Cladus: Sphenacodontoidea
Cladus: Therapsida
Cladus: Theriodontia
Subordo: Cynodontia
Infraordo: Eucynodontia
Cladus: Probainognathia
Cladus: Prozostrodontia
Cladus: Mammaliaformes
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Trechnotheria
Infraclassis: Zatheria
Supercohors: Theria
Cohors: Eutheria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Cladus: Boreoeutheria
Superordo: Euarchontoglires
Ordo: Lagomorpha
Familia: Ochotonidae
Genus: Ochotona
Species: Ochotona hyperborea
Subspecies: O. h. cinereoflava – O. h. coreana – O. h. ferruginea – O. h. hyperborea – O. h. mantchurica – O. h. normalis – O. h. uralensis – O. h. yesoensis – O. h. yoshikurai
Name
Ochotona hyperborea (Pallas, 1811): 152
Synonyms
Lepus hyperboreus Pallas, 1811 (protonym)
Ochotona hyperborea
Ochotona (Pika) hyperborea
References
Primary references
Pallas, P.S. 1811. Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, sistens omnium animalium in extenso Imperio Rossico et adjacentibus maribus observatorum recensionem, domicilia, mores et descriptiones, anatomen atque icones plurimorum. Tomus I. Officina Caesareae Academiae Scientiarum: Petropolis [St. Petersburg]. xviii + 572 pp. BnF Gallica Reference page.
Links
Ochotona hyperborea in Mammal Species of the World.
Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn M. (Editors) 2005. Mammal Species of the World – A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Third edition. ISBN 0-8018-8221-4.
IUCN: Ochotona hyperborea (Least Concern)
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Nördlicher Pfeifhase
English: Northern Pika
español: Pica de Siberia
français: Pika de Sibérie
日本語: キタナキウサギ
русский: Северная пищуха
The northern pika (Ochotona hyperborea) is a species of pika found across mountainous regions of northern Asia, from the Ural Mountains to northern Japan and south through Mongolia, Manchuria and northern Korea. An adult northern pika has a body length of 12.5–18.5 centimeters (4.9–7.3 in), and a tail of 0.5–1.2 centimeters (0.20–0.47 in). The pika sheds its fur twice annually, bearing a reddish-brown coat in the summer and grayish-brown coat in winter. It feeds on various plant material and makes "hay piles" for winter use.
Taxonomy
There are several subspecies of this pika:[2]
Ochotona hyperborea cinereoflava
Ochotona hyperborea coreana
Ochotona hyperborea ferruginea
Ochotona hyperborea mantchurica
Ochotona hyperborea normalis
Ochotona hyperborea uralesis
Ochotona hyperborea yesoensis
Ochotona hyperborea yoshikurai
Description
The northern pika is a small species and grows to a length of between 12.5 and 18.5 centimeters (4.9 and 7.3 in) with a tail of 0.5 to 1.2 centimeters (0.20 to 0.47 in). It has small rounded ears and short legs with five toes on each foot and furry soles. The fine long hair is reddish-brown in summer but much greyer in winter. The underparts are white tinged with reddish-brown and the sexes look alike.[3] It is variable in size and colouring across its extensive range.[4]
Distribution and habitat
The northern pika lives in mountainous regions of eastern Asia. Its range extends from the Urals and the Putorana Plateau, through eastern and southern Siberia, including Sakhalin Island, to northern Mongolia, Manchuria, North Korea and Hokkaido.[3] It is found on scree and on rocky slopes in mountainous areas, in boulder fields, in damp areas among coniferous trees and in dry Alpine meadows. In large areas of rock it is mostly found near the edge and makes shallow burrows in the turf nearby. It occurs at altitudes between 400 and 2,000 metres (1,300 and 6,600 ft). In general it is restricted to higher altitudes than the Alpine pika.[4][5]
Behaviour
A northern pika (Ochotona hyperborea yesoensis) in Mount Nipesotsu, Japan
Northern pikas are most active and mostly feed soon after dawn and as dusk approaches. They have a network of burrows and also use crevices in the rocks and subterranean runways. Each underground network of passages has numerous entrances and pathways join these with feeding areas on the surface. During their time above ground, their time is spent moving about, feeding, grooming or sitting in a stationary position, usually on some eminence. They mostly move around using short jumps but can also walk and run, and can combine these means of locomotion while agilely climbing over rocks or scaling cliffs. They can stand briefly on their hind legs while sparring or gathering food and can climb in an ungainly fashion in seedling conifers such as the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris).[5]
The northern pika is herbivorous and eats a variety of plant material such as grasses, twigs, needles, stems and leaves. The food is gathered and then mostly carried back, using the mouth alone, to one of a number of eating points near an entrances to the burrow. When feeding on stems and twigs, a sitting posture is adopted and gnawing starts low down and works upwards. If alarmed while feeding, the pika may dash to its hole, sometimes carrying the food item in its mouth, or remain stationary and alert till the danger passes. It also collects green parts of plants, allows them to dry, and stores them in caches.[5] It has been found that the plants chosen are not those that are the most abundant but are selected species with high nutritive value. Evergreen tuft-forming plants are avoided.[6] These "hay piles" are located in dry locations for consumption during the winter. Northern pikas do not hibernate and can tunnel under the snow to reach their caches and visit areas where there are twigs and other plant material still available.[3]
Some time is spent grooming the fur of the head and face with the forepaws and scratching the head and front part of the body with the hind feet. Apart from settling the fur and removing external parasites, these activities may serve to spread the secretions of the apocrine glands onto the paws for territory marking. Much time is spent loitering in specially selected spots, usually on a prominent rock or tree stump within a few metres (yards) of a hole, for up to ten minutes at a time. On some of these occasions, the pika seems to be sunbathing in a relaxed stance, the animal often turning its head towards the sun, but at other times the animal seems alert and on the look out. The approach of a predator or an observer too closely for comfort causes the animal to scurry away into its hole with a sharp warning cry "Kitz". At certain times, an animal may call from an eminence to other pikas in the area and other individuals may respond. Other shrill calls may be made when sitting or moving around but their significance is unclear.[5]
Breeding
Both male and female northern pikas defend territories. They mark the boundaries by either rubbing a gland on their cheek on a projecting rock or by scent marking with urine.[4] A territory is usually occupied by a pair of pikas but males sometimes stray into other territories.[7] The population is usually stable with one litter of up to nine (usually three or four) offspring being produced each year, though two smaller litters may be produced in the more southerly part of the range. The gestation period is about 28 days and juveniles share their parents' territory for a while before dispersing. It is unclear when they become sexually mature but the life expectancy is about three years.[3]
Status
The northern pika has a very large range and is common within suitable habitat in that range. The population size is relatively stable and no significant threats have been identified so the IUCN lists the species as being of "Least Concern" in its Red List of Threatened Species.[1]
References
Smith, A.T.; Lissovsky, A. (2016). "Ochotona hyperborea". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T87948061A45183490. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T87948061A45183490.en. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Hoffman, R.S.; Smith, A.T. (2005). "Order Lagomorpha". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
O'Brian, Allison (2007). "Ochotona hyperborea: Northern pika". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
Joseph A. (1990). Chapman; Flux, John E. C. (eds.). Rabbits, Hares and Pikas: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN. pp. 34–37. ISBN 9782831700199.
Kawamichi, T. (1969). "Behavior and daily activities of the Japanese pika, Ochotona hyperborea yesoensis" (PDF): 127–152.
Gliwicz, Joanna; Pagacz, Stanislaw; Witczuk, Julia (2006). "Strategy of Food Plant Selection in the Siberian Northern Pika, Ochotona hyperborea". Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 38 (1): 54–59. doi:10.1657/1523-0430(2006)038[0054:SOFPSI]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 85677909.
Gliwicz, Joanna; Witczuk, Julia; Pagacz, Stanisław (2005). "Spatial behaviour of the rock-dwelling pika (Ochotona hyperborea)". Journal of Zoology. 267 (2): 113–120. doi:10.1017/S0952836905007211.
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