Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

references, pika, contents, habitat, characteristics, activity, vocalization, lifespan, taxonomy, notes, additional, of, the, paleobiology, database, further, reading, external, links, extinct, species,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (190), pika (109), and (102), ochotona (102), pikas (51), pleistocene (45), from (44), pliocene (34), pdb (33), hare (32), are (27), #species (26), doi (26), north (26), late (23), american (21), asia (21), miocene (21), with (19), subgenus (19), bibcode (17), america (17), edit (16), they (16), also (16), retrieved (15), 2014 (15), lagomorpha (14), their (14), rabbit (14), pdf (14), for (14), have (14), early (13), paleobiology (12), database (12), archived (12), other (11), new (11), extinct (11), princeps (11), china (11), during (11), short (10), extant (10), ochotonidae (10), red (10), cottontail (10), middle (10), genus (10), original (10), see (10), 978 (9), isbn (9), eurasia (9), small (9), wikipedia (8), may (8), link (8), mountain (8), rock (8), pusilla (8), northern (8), journal (8), s2cid (8), ochotonids (8), been (8), plants (8), additional (7), mammalia (7), jackrabbit (7), tapeti (7), family (7), steppe (7), known (7), records (7), john (7), mammalian (7), fossil (7), april (7), whartoni (7), ukraine (7), between (7), calls (7), lagomorphs (7), not (7), that (7), proochotona (7), winter (7), this (6), links (6), fauna (6), rabbits (6), arctic (6), eastern (6), collared (6), collaris (6), alpine (6), canada (6), has (6), quaternary (6), university (6), foraging (6), order (6), which (6), europe (6), forms (6), more (6), food (6), contents (5), text (5), page (5), was (5), external (5), articles (5), national (5), hares (5), large (5), file (5), these (5), 1990 (5), united (5), 1016 (5), mammal (5), western (5), research (5), press (5), hungary (5), museum (5), history (5), transbaikalia (5), 1956 (5), 2003 (5), distribution (5), dictionary (5), one (5), native (5), time (5), activity (5), search (4), under (4), commons (4), 2026 (4), wikidata (4), lepus (4), leporidae (4), kingdom (4), cape (4), black (4), hyperborea (4), related (4), include (4), states (4), upper (4), east (4), cave (4), mammals (4), help (4), bulletin (4), out (4), pmid (4), change (4), colorado (4), 2009 (4), alaska (4), assemblage (4), 717 (4), references (4), spanglei (4), march (4), erbajeva (4), margarita (4), diversity (4), animal (4), within (4), encyclopedia (4), english (4), global (4), many (4), probably (4), grasses (4), currently (4), found (4), group (4), gromovi (4), some (4), main (4), lifespan (4), season (4), than (4), dwelling (4), young (4), hide (4), move (4), sidebar (4), languages (3), toggle (3), view (3), about (3), wikimedia (3), last (3), edited (3), ignored (3), britannica (3), reference (3), wayback (3), description (3), first (3), open (3), wikispecies (3), sylvilagus (3), prolagus (3), desmatolagus (3), class (3), phylum (3), chordata (3), animalia (3), genera (3), chinese (3), manchurian (3), korean (3), alaskan (3), smith (3), central (3), common (3), eared (3), koslowi (3), thomas (3), plateau (3), cansus (3), pallas (3), hoffmann (3), information (3), little (3), contributors (3), utilized (3), authorizers (3), supplying (3), alroy (3), grady (3), vertebrate (3), 1996 (3), cenozoic (3), asian (3), geology (3), international (3), conference (3), mead (3), cite (3), vol (3), faunas (3), rodentia (3), northeastern (3), carnegie (3), natural (3), 2000 (3), hdl (3), jstor (3), mammalogy (3), wang (3), 2011 (3), high (3), age (3), 333 (3), hebei (3), land (3), environmental (3), systematics (3), storer (3), yukon (3), guthrie (3), matthews (3), 1971 (3), shotwell (3), climate (3), evolution (3), 2021 (3), russian (3), 1795 (3), issn (3), 3rd (3), mammoth (3), sciences (3), notes (3), 2005 (3), taxonomic (3), 159 (3), southern (3), rocky (3), variation (3), vocalizations (3), geographic (3), january (3), world (3), animals (3), oclc (3), areas (3), even (3), most (3), leporids (3), range (3), poland (3), siberia (3), long (3), described (3), zazhigini (3), holocene (3), tologoica (3), kyrgyzstan (3), transcaucasia (3), article (3), taxonomy (3), can (3), become (3), characteristics (3), live (3), share (3), where (3), eat (3), when (3), humans (3), temperatures (3), active (3), rocks (3), ears (3), fur (3), burrows (3), mountains (3), 000 (3), tools (3), table (2), contact (2), privacy (2), policy (2), available (2), terms (2), site (2), categories (2), cs1 (2), errors (2), 1911 (2), mongolian (2), different (2), org (2), europaea (2), eurolagus (2), austrolagomys (2), romerolagus (2), pronolagus (2), poelagus (2), pentalagus (2), oryctolagus (2), nesolagus (2), caprolagus (2), bunolagus (2), brachylagus (2), tonomochota (2), titanomys (2), sinolagomys (2), russellagus (2), piezodus (2), oreolagus (2), oklahomalagus (2), ochotonoma (2), ochotonoides (2), lagopsis (2), kenyalagomys (2), hesperolagomys (2), gripholagomys (2), cuyamalagus (2), bellatona (2), amphilagus (2), alloptox (2), superorder (2), euarchontoglires (2), white (2), tailed (2), woolly (2), ethiopian (2), european (2), tolai (2), desert (2), striped (2), turkestan (2), rutila (2), royle (2), roylei (2), macrotis (2), ladak (2), ladacensis (2), koslov (2), ili (2), iliensis (2), glover (2), gloveri (2), forrest (2), forresti (2), erythrotis (2), conothoa (2), thomasi (2), moupin (2), thibetana (2), tsing (2), ling (2), syrinx (2), afghan (2), rufescens (2), nubra (2), nubrica (2), daurian (2), dauurica (2), curzoniae (2), gansu (2), turuchan (2), turuchanensis (2), kazakh (2), opaca (2), mantchurica (2), hoffmanni (2), coreana (2), helan (2), shan (2), argentata (2), alpina (2), parks (2), includes (2), sound (2), robert (2), 1977 (2), york (2), further (2), reading (2), will (2), mark (2), cricetidae (2), south (2), paleontology (2), deposits (2), romania (2), acta (2), zoologica (2), cracoviensia (2), 1997 (2), localities (2), 133 (2), rasmussen (2), northwest (2), 1987 (2), paleoenvironment (2), tertiary (2), second (2), 1006 (2), columbia (2), book (2), janossy (2), 1986 (2), osztramos (2), guilday (2), 5962 (2), annals (2), proceedings (2), preliminary (2), report (2), 1379335 (2), 2307 (2), special (2), tibet (2), science (2), cai (2), yangyuan (2), yuxian (2), 124 (2), vertebrata (2), palasiatica (2), 1973 (2), français (2), classification (2), quaternaire (2), elevation (2), park (2), territory (2), 137 (2), harington (2), 1978 (2), suggested (2), deceit (2), 510 (2), 86601856 (2), 0033 (2), 5894 (2), 90060 (2), 1971qures (2), 474g (2), 474 (2), hemphillian (2), oregon (2), 1130 (2), 0016 (2), 7606 (2), hmafno (2), 1956gsab (2), 717s (2), geological (2), society (2), 2010 (2), type (2), ochotonid (2), far (2), 2020 (2), zheng (2), zhang (2), wen (2), molecular (2), program (2), abstracts (2), occasional (2), papers (2), earth (2), jim (2), swift (2), sandra (2), 2006 (2), june (2), 117 (2), 2017 (2), 2016 (2), october (2), frelik (2), transition (2), bone (2), populations (2), douglas (2), 1380670 (2), response (2), regions (2), charlotte (2), 2018 (2), johns (2), hopkins (2), 2013 (2), does (2), merriam (2), webster (2), pica (2), machine (2), general (2), oxford (2), xls (2), e59668 (2), fossils (2), listed (2), all (2), appeared (2), eocene (2), oligocene (2), peak (2), period (2), them (2), increase (2), switch (2), larger (2), called (2), sometimes (2), green (2), only (2), earliest (2), indet (2), free (2), russia (2), giant (2), roughly (2), characterized (2), groups (2), spelaeus (2), kirgisica (2), nihewanica (2), intermedia (2), eximia (2), daurica (2), antiqua (2), yakutia (2), plain (2), turkey (2), georgia (2), moldova (2), sized (2), france (2), germany (2), azerbaijan (2), below (2), shrub (2), years (2), call (2), songs (2), used (2), there (2), depending (2), breeding (2), vocalization (2), gathering (2), lives (2), human (2), hibernate (2), plant (2), matter (2), process (2), dried (2), prefer (2), generally (2), direct (2), temperature (2), higher (2), two (2), consumption (2), store (2), fewer (2), burrowing (2), owing (2), after (2), although (2), another (2), feces (2), twigs (2), tract (2), but (2), get (2), nutrients (2), fiber (2), soft (2), cecotropes (2), limbs (2), rounded (2), body (2), cold (2), elevations (2), habitat (2), primarily (2), name (2), derived (2), scientific (2), appearance (2), upload (2), changes (2), read (2), bahasa (2), log (2), create (2), account (2), donate (2), menu (2), add, topic, mobile, cookie, statement, statistics, developers, code, conduct, legal, safety, contacts, disclaimers, apply, using, you, agree, registered, trademark, non, profit, organization, foundation, inc, use, creative, attribution, sharealike, license, rendered, parsoid, september, utc, hidden, category, periodical, incorporating, citation, encyclopaedia, wikisource, webarchive, template, containing, language, tungus, microformats, taxa, named, johann, heinrich, friedrich, burdigalian, appearances, https, index, php, title, oldid, 1376551645, yale, lux, japan, authority, control, databases, 42159, 644237, tree, life, 9977, ncbi, 13500003, msw, 180107, itis, 1383367, irmng, 43170, inaturalist, old, 2436951, gbif, 46adb0e6, 3df2, 4571, b23a, e5ebe8b45e9d, 305541, 1ochog, eppo, 10826, eol, 66fr, col, 3270, bold, adw, q184067, taxon, identifiers, trischizolagus, tachylagus, pronotolagus, pliopentalagus, pewelagus, paranotolagus, ordolagus, nekrolagus, mytonolagus, megalagus, litolagus, lepoides, lagotherium, gobiolagus, chadrolagus, aztlanolagus, aluralagus, palaeolaginae, serengetilagus, pratilepus, pliosiwalagus, pliolagus, nuralagus, alilepus, leporinae, panolax, notolagus, hypolagus, archaeolagus, archaeolaginae, shamolagus, palaeolagus, lushilagus, hypsimylus, hsiuannania, clade, glires, magnorder, boreoeutheria, relatives, townsendii, scrub, saxatilis, oiostolus, abyssinian, habessinicus, granada, granatensis, tehuantepec, flavigularis, corsican, corsicanus, capensis, sided, callotis, californicus, japanese, brachyurus, tamaulipas, altamirae, incertae, sedis, yarkand, yarkandensis, tarimolagus, sinensis, sinolagus, burmese, peguensis, indian, nigricollis, hainan, hainanus, indolagus, african, savanna, victoriae, fagani, sabanalagus, highland, starcki, mandshuricus, europaeus, coreanus, yunnan, comus, broom, castroviejoi, eulagos, tibetanus, insularis, proeulagus, timidus, othus, arcticus, snowshoe, americanus, poecilolagus, antelope, alleni, macrotolagus, hispid, hispidus, hewitt, saundersiae, rupestris, jameson, randensis, natal, crassicaudatus, bunyoro, marjorita, cuniculus, brush, bachmani, microlagus, england, transitionalis, robust, holzneri, appalachian, obscurus, nuttallii, tres, marias, graysoni, floridanus, mexican, cunicularis, audubonii, venezuelan, lowland, varynaensis, coastal, tapetillus, santa, marta, sanctaemartae, suriname, parentum, marsh, palustris, omilteme, insonus, gabbi, dice, dicei, brasiliensis, swamp, aquaticus, andean, andinus, pygmy, idahoensis, volcano, diazi, annamite, timminsi, sumatran, netscheri, riverine, monticularis, amami, furnessi, pallasi, infraclass, eutheria, michael, morris, mount, revelstoke, glacier, trek, media, orr, illustrated, macmillan, 593960, anna, behrensmeyer, clyde, alan, turner, uhen, winkler, rodent, arvicolinae, 490, 1080, 02724634, 10011831, 1990jvpal, 484w, 484, atopomys, terzea, biochronology, betfia, bihor, 540, 531, sotnikova, dodonov, pen, kov, bio, magnetic, stratigraphy, 258, s0031, 0182, 00078, 1997ppp, 243s, 243, palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 1974, clark, fork, river, valley, montana, qiu, neogene, micromammals, 848, 834, whyte, mid, 101, 128811270, qres, 0009, 1996qures, 93m, kurten, anderson, 1980, 231, 03733, amsterdam, elsevier, 444, 99526, 1970, ein, neuer, eomyide, aus, dem, ältestpleistozän, oberes, villafrankium, villanyium, des, nordostungarn, eomyid, lowermost, villafranchian, 113, annales, historico, naturales, musei, nationalis, hungarici, 1979, 251525193, 330836, garton, historic, field, trip, preserve, trout, 244, 241, west, virginia, speleological, survey, gidley, 1913, 102, 2027, hvd, 32044107347718, 5479, 00963801, recently, discovered, deposit, near, cumberland, maryland, frazier, neofiber, leonardi, paleoecology, 373, 368, erbaeva, faunistic, complexes, micromammalia, quatärpaläontologie, deng, fortelius, tseng, takeuchi, saylor, säilä, xie, rhino, suggests, origin, ice, megaherbivores, 6047, 1288, 8913866, 21885780, 1126, 1206594, 2011sci, 1285d, 1285, micromammalian, 136, bonifay, principaux, gisements, paléontologiques, pléistocene, moyen, essai, belyaeva, 1948, catalogue, sites, barnosky, 1988, 292, 330577, 1988ancm, 267b, 267, arvicoline, rodents, 2900, meters, porcupine, jonathan, marcot, tedford, taylor, phylogenetic, caninae, carnivora, canidae, 218, 83594819, 2246, 5999, 1206, 574, 325, 2004, irvingtonian, thistle, creek, klondike, goldfields, region, 150, paludicola, 375, 7202, 032837ar, geographie, physique, vertebrates, interglaciation, review, chronological, sequence, syllogeus, jopling, 1981, 2499, 14430, arctic2499, 1981arcti, 34c2499j, stratigraphic, sedimentological, faunal, evidence, occurrence, pre, sangamonian, artefacts, voorhies, gustavson, bureau, economic, guidebook, quote, hordijk, kees, departement, aardwetenschappen, document, dissertation, full, 5744, 194, 1874, 197550, perseverance, interplay, competition, spanish, tiunov, mikhail, gusev, alexander, 572, palwor, 003, 562, palaeoworld, ning, changlin, ping, hsiung, 10877942, 1055, 7903, mpev, 0776, 2000molpe, 85y, phylogenetics, inferred, mitochondrial, dna, sequences, arnold, 738, rekovets, leonid, 131, 130, mammuthus, primigenius, periglacial, development, čermák, stanislav, obuch, ján, benda, petr, 0024, 7774, lynx, shaohua, 3409, 173491505783995734, 48a, data, baoquan, 1989, 181, translated, downs, department, bilby, center, arizona, 170, xxvii, counties, province, alexeeva, nadezhda, angelone, chiara, palaeontologia, electronica, overview, fostowicz, łucja, grzegorz, gasparik, mihály, morphological, phylogeny, 83700561, 41446115, 1635, 053, 0107, 2010pansp, 97f, academy, philadelphia, barker, jennifer, boonstra, rudy, schulte, hostedde, albrecht, determination, yellow, pine, chipmunks, comparison, eye, lens, masses, sections, 1779, 1139, z03, 173, 2003cajz, 1774b, 1774, canadian, zoology, tamias, amoenus, somers, preston, dialects, s0003, 3472, 80050, 1973anbeh, 124s, behaviour, trefry, sarah, hik, david, 795, 1111, 1600, 0587, 05589, 784, ecography, conner, 1982, stafl, natalie, connor, mary, 2015, hikers, sensitivity, heat, environment, 527, 86263545, 1523, 0430, 1657, aaar0014, 057, 2015aaar, 519s, 519, antarctic, dearing, denise, function, haypiles, 1156, 1163, apa, brown, johnston, van, cleve, rehabilitation, problems, reclamation, drastically, disturbed, lands, andrew, alves, paulo, hackländer, klaus, 4214, 2340, august, 2024, service, elbroch, mechanicsburg, 248, 8117, 3309, stackpole, books, skulls, guide, leininger, charlene, web, erb, liesl, ray, chris, guralnick, 1735, 21939069, 1890, 0175, 2011ecol, 1730e, 1730, ecology, generality, mediated, shift, kawamichi, takeo, 1984, macdonald, facts, 727, 87196, 871, 726, walters, martin, parragon, 203, 40545, 669, ˌäkəˈtōnə, differentiate, vowels, father, bother, 1032680871, com, 2023, wildlife, federation, lydekker, richard, 11th, cambridge, 575, encyclopædia, chisholm, hugh, twycrosszoo, fox, nikki, 2025, twycross, zoo, wildpro, harper, online, etymology, breyer, treehugger, meet, mouse, bunny, could, vanish, harpercollins, 1120411289, collins, table_s1, deyan, zhixin, xia, lin, zhaoqun, huang, chengming, yang, qisen, 23573205, 3616043, pmc, 1371, pone, 0059668, 2013ploso, 859668g, plos, evolutionary, reeder, eds, 193, 62265494, 8018, 8221, 185, wilson, coordinates, attached, paper, were, taken, continued, develop, along, increased, previously, forest, dominated, climatic, optimum, thrived, africa, occurred, became, accompanied, proposed, caused, expansion, particularly, cooling, since, reveal, strong, preference, replacement, forests, grassland, started, nature, revolution, fabaceae, rosaceae, asteraceae, poaceae, while, living, usually, included, neither, nor, leporid, stem, ptychoprolagus, pseudobellatona, syn, pliolagomys, plicalagus, paludotona, marcuinomys, heterolagus, gymnesicolagus, bohlinotona, bellatonoides, australagomys, albertona, occurrences, blue, past, both, inhabiting, countries, asiatic, location, italy, descended, same, ancestor, endemic, via, bering, bridge, latest, followed, three, million, year, gap, record, migrated, invaded, twice, paleontologists, multiple, referred, specific, certainly, identified, statuses, uncertain, archaic, cheek, teeth, size, whole, complex, problematic, plesiomorphic, lagrelii, similar, wheatleyi, examples, ostramos, maritsa, greece, zabiensis, irkutsk, oblast, yushe, basin, tedfordi, pseudopusilla, ozansoyi, mediterranensis, lazari, largerli, kurdjukovi, kormosi, kalfaense, hengduanshanensis, gureevi, gigas, kazakhstan, alaica, armenia, agadzhaniani, others, youngi, valerots, valerotae, sibirica, minor, honce, slovakia, horaceki, gracilis, filippovi, schernfeld, dehmi, bazarovi, medium, polonica, plicodenta, dodogolica, lingtaica, azerica, rhodes, caucasus, moldavia, agadjianiani, zhangi, zasuchini, ursui, transbaikal, transcaucasica, magna, inner, mongolia, lagreli, guizhongensis, shanxi, gudrunae, area, baode, chowmincheni, literature, epoch, present, lived, pallasii, siberian, silver, altai, lipped, gray, recognized, list, average, wild, seven, determined, number, adhesion, lines, lower, jaw, differ, sexes, periosteal, distinct, vary, duration, quick, longer, drawn, example, determine, appropriate, make, listening, cues, localization, individual, recognition, predator, warning, signals, defense, way, attract, potential, mates, spring, frequent, summer, through, various, studies, acoustic, useful, tool, eurasian, commonly, duties, keeping, watch, territorial, leading, solitary, outside, asocial, impact, ecosystems, recorded, dating, back, 1970s, rather, forage, stash, findings, protected, dens, haying, mistake, predators, respond, prey, such, interactions, linked, having, reduced, amounts, consequentially, limiting, amount, stockpile, months, spend, shaded, sunlight, increases, lost, every, ambient, landscapes, home, those, lose, tundra, daylight, twilight, hours, being, daytime, show, just, before, remain, throughout, traveling, tunnels, snow, eating, stored, exhibit, methods, involves, haypile, cached, crepuscular, diurnal, vegetation, pile, drying, subsequent, storage, utah, cottonwood, canyon, litters, five, whilst, tend, give, birth, breed, frequently, possibly, greater, availability, resources, habitats, born, altricial, eyes, closed, days, gestation, gnawing, similarity, bottom, paws, covered, lack, paw, pads, dental, formula, molars, canines, incisors, dead, birds, feed, wide, variety, including, moss, lichens, easily, digestible, processed, gastrointestinal, expelled, regular, hard, digest, ferment, cecum, then, expel, pellets, reingested, cecotrophy, behavior, among, absorbed, intestine, sedges, forbs, herbivores, length, weigh, 120, 350, climates, sides, numerous, crevices, shelter, construct, crude, few, often, build, nests, changing, forced, restrict, ranges, snowfinches, hatcher, pass, slopes, graze, flowers, stems, autumn, pull, hay, stores, whistling, because, its, pitched, gives, alarmed, southwestern, territories, british, alarm, appears, word, means, any, member, smallest, lagomorph, covering, though, belonging, separate, sardinian, tohn, оготно, ogotno, piika, tungusic, very, round, coat, tail, resemble, close, relative, nearby, himalayas, pee, 1776, dauuricus, temporal, preꞓ, uses, disambiguation, confused, item, projects, printable, version, download, print, export, legacy, parser, shortened, url, permanent, what, here, actions, talk, winaray, walon, tiếng, việt, اردو, українська, татарча, tatarça, türkçe, tagalog, ไทย, тоҷикӣ, svenska, српски, srpski, slovenščina, slovenčina, simple, русский, română, português, پنجابی, polski, diné, bizaad, norsk, bokmål, nederlands, malti, melayu, македонски, latviešu, lietuvių, latina, 한국어, қазақша, taqbaylit, ქართული, 日本語, italiano, íslenska, indonesia, հայերեն, hrvatski, עברית, galego, gaeilge, فارسی, euskara, eesti, español, deutsch, dansk, cymraeg, cebuano, català, brezhoneg, བོད, ཡིག, български, беларуская, тарашкевіца, basa, bali, kotava, asturianu, مصرى, العربية, subsection, top, personal, pages, recent, community, portal, learn, contribute, random, current

Text of the page (random words):
ceps scientific classification kingdom animalia phylum chordata class mammalia order lagomorpha family ochotonidae genus ochotona link 1795 type species ochotona daurica link 1795 lepus dauuricus pallas 1776 species see text global distribution of pikas a pika ˈ p aɪ k ə py kə 3 4 ˈ p iː k ə pee kə 4 is a small mountain dwelling mammal native to asia and north america with short limbs a very round body an even coat of fur and no external tail they resemble their close relative the rabbit but with short rounded ears 5 the large eared pika of the himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than 6 000 m 20 000 ft the name pika appears to be derived from the tungusic piika 6 7 and the scientific name ochotona is derived from the mongolian word ogotno оготно which means pika 8 it is used for any member of the ochotonidae 9 a family within the order of lagomorphs the order which also includes the leporidae rabbits and hares they are the smallest animal in the lagomorph group 10 only one genus ochotona 9 ˌ ɒ k ə ˈ t oʊ n ə ok ə tohn ə 11 is extant within the family covering 37 species though many fossil genera are known another species the sardinian pika belonging to the separate genus prolagus has become extinct within the last 2 000 years owing to human activity pikas prefer rocky slopes and graze on a range of plants primarily grasses flowers and young stems in the autumn they pull hay soft twigs and other stores of food under rocks to eat during the long cold winter 12 the pika is also known as the whistling hare because of its high pitched alarm call it gives when alarmed the two species found in north america are the american pika found primarily in the mountains of the western united states and far southwestern canada and the collared pika of northern british columbia the yukon western northwest territories and alaska habitat edit collared pika on hatcher pass alaska pikas are native to cold climates in asia and north america most species live on rocky mountain sides where numerous crevices are available for their shelter although some pikas also construct crude burrows a few burrowing species are native to open steppe land in the mountains of eurasia pikas often share their burrows with snowfinches which build their nests there 13 changing temperatures have forced some pika populations to restrict their ranges to even higher elevations 14 characteristics edit pikas are small mammals with short limbs and rounded ears they are about 15 to 23 cm 5 9 to 9 1 in in body length and weigh between 120 and 350 g 4 2 and 12 3 oz depending on species these animals are herbivores and feed on a wide variety of plant matter including forbs grasses sedges shrub twigs moss and lichens easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces but in order to get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber pika ferment fiber in the cecum in the gi tract and then expel the contents as soft pellets or cecotropes which are reingested this process is known as cecotrophy and is a common behavior among all lagomorphs nutrients from the cecotropes are absorbed in the small intestine after consumption 7 collared pikas have been known to store dead birds in their burrows for food during winter and eat the feces of other animals 15 as with other lagomorphs pikas have gnawing incisors and no canines although they have fewer molars than rabbits they have a dental formula of 2 0 3 2 1 0 2 3 26 16 another similarity that pikas share with other lagomorphs is that the bottom of their paws are covered with fur and lack paw pads 17 rock dwelling pikas have small litters of fewer than five young whilst the burrowing species tend to give birth to more young and to breed more frequently possibly owing to a greater availability of resources in their native habitats the young are born altricial eyes and ears closed no fur after a gestation period of between 25 and 30 days 13 activity edit vegetation pile drying on rocks for subsequent storage little cottonwood canyon utah pikas are active during daylight diurnal or twilight hours crepuscular with higher elevation species generally being more active during the daytime they show their peak activity just before the winter season pikas do not hibernate and remain active throughout the winter by traveling in tunnels under rocks and snow and eating dried plants that they have stored 18 rock dwelling pikas exhibit two methods of foraging the first involves direct consumption of food and the second is characterized by the gathering of plants to store in a haypile of cached plants 19 the impact of human activity on the tundra ecosystems where pikas live has been recorded dating back to the 1970s 20 rather than hibernate during winter pikas forage for grasses and other forms of plant matter and stash these findings in protected dens in a process called haying they eat the dried plants during the winter 21 when pikas mistake humans as predators they may respond to humans as they do to other species that do prey on pikas such interactions with humans have been linked to pikas having reduced amounts of foraging time consequentially limiting the amount of food they can stockpile for winter months 22 pikas prefer foraging in temperatures below 25 c 77 f so they generally spend their time in shaded regions and out of direct sunlight when temperatures are high 22 a link has also been found between temperature increases and lost foraging time where for every increase of 1 c 1 8 f to the ambient temperature in alpine landscapes home to pikas those pikas lose 3 of their foraging time 22 eurasian pikas commonly live in family groups and share duties of gathering food and keeping watch some species are territorial north american pikas o princeps and o collaris are asocial leading solitary lives outside the breeding season 15 vocalization edit pikas have distinct calls which vary in duration the call can be short and quick a little longer and more drawn out or long songs the short calls are an example of geographic variation the pikas determine the appropriate time to make short calls by listening for cues for sound localization 23 the calls are used for individual recognition predator warning signals territory defense or as a way to attract potential mates 24 there are also different calls depending on the season in the spring the songs become more frequent during the breeding season in late summer the vocalizations become short calls through various studies the acoustic characteristics of the vocalizations can be a useful taxonomic tool 25 lifespan edit the average lifespan of pikas in the wild is roughly seven years a pika s age may be determined by the number of adhesion lines on the periosteal bone on the lower jaw the lifespan does not differ between the sexes 26 taxonomy edit main article list of ochotonids the 29 extant species of pika currently recognized are order lagomorpha 1 family ochotonidae pikas genus ochotona subgenus conothoa mountain pikas chinese red pika o erythrotis forrest s pika o forresti glover s pika o gloveri ili pika o iliensis koslov s pika o koslowi ladak pika o ladacensis large eared pika o macrotis royle s pika o roylei turkestan red pika o rutila subgenus ochotona shrub steppe pikas gansu pika or gray pika o cansus plateau pika or black lipped pika o curzoniae daurian pika o dauurica nubra pika o nubrica steppe pika o pusilla afghan pika o rufescens tsing ling pika o syrinx moupin pika o thibetana thomas s pika o thomasi subgenus pika northern pikas alpine pika or altai pika o alpina helan shan pika or silver pika o argentata collared pika o collaris korean pika o coreana hoffmann s pika o hoffmanni northern pika or siberian pika o hyperborea manchurian pika o mantchurica kazakh pika o opaca pallas s pika o pallasii american pika o princeps turuchan pika o turuchanensis extinct species edit many fossil forms of ochotona are described in the literature from the miocene epoch to the early holocene extinct species and present 16 4 0 ma 2 they lived in europe asia and north america some species listed below are common for eurasia and north america o gromovi o tologoica o zazhigini and probably o whartoni eurasia large forms ochotona chowmincheni china baode area late miocene 2 27 28 ochotona gromovi asia pliocene see also north america 28 ochotona gudrunae china shanxi early pleistocene 2 27 28 ochotona guizhongensis tibet late miocene 2 28 29 ochotona lagreli china inner mongolia late miocene to late pliocene 2 27 28 29 ochotona magna china early pleistocene 2 28 30 ochotona tologoica transbaikalia pliocene see also north america 2 28 30 ochotona transcaucasica transcaucasia eastern georgia and azerbaijan transbaikal and probably southern europe early to late pleistocene 2 27 28 ochotona ursui romania pliocene 2 28 ochotona zasuchini transbaikalia pleistocene 2 28 30 ochotona zazhigini asia pliocene see also north america 2 28 ochotona zhangi china pleistocene 2 28 30 medium sized forms ochotona agadjianiani asia pliocene 28 ochotona antiqua moldavia ukraine and the russian plain caucasus and probably rhodes late miocene to pliocene 2 27 28 ochotona azerica transcaucasia azerbaijan 31 middle pliocene 2 30 ochotona lingtaica asia pliocene 2 28 ochotona dodogolica asia western transbaikalia pleistocene 27 28 ochotona nihewanica china hebei early pleistocene 2 27 28 32 ochotona plicodenta asia pliocene 2 28 ochotona polonica europe poland germany france pliocene 2 27 28 small sized forms ochotona bazarovi asia upper pliocene 2 30 32 ochotona dehmi germany schernfeld pleistocene 2 28 ochotona filippovi siberia pleistocene 2 32 ochotona gracilis asia pliocene 2 28 ochotona horaceki slovakia honce pleistocene 2 28 ochotona minor china late miocene 2 28 29 ochotona sibirica asia pliocene 2 28 ochotona valerotae france valerots site pleistocene 2 28 ochotona youngi asia pliocene 28 and others 2 28 other examples ochotona agadzhaniani transcaucasia armenia pliocene 2 ochotona alaica asia kyrgyzstan pleistocene 2 ochotona proochotona eximia moldova ukraine russia kazakhstan miocene to pliocene 2 ochotona proochotona gigas ukraine pliocene 2 ochotona gureevi transbaikalia middle pliocene 2 30 ochotona hengduanshanensis china pleistocene 2 ochotona intermedia asia pliocene 2 28 ochotona proochotona kalfaense europe moldova miocene 2 ochotona proochotona kirgisica asia kyrgyzstan pliocene 2 ochotona kormosi hungary pleistocene 2 27 ochotona proochotona kurdjukovi asia kyrgyzstan pliocene 2 ochotona largerli georgia pleistocene 2 ochotona lazari ukraine pleistocene 2 ochotona mediterranensis turkey pliocene 2 ochotona ozansoyi turkey miocene 2 ochotona pseudopusilla ukraine and russian plain pleistocene 2 28 ochotona spelaeus ukraine late pleistocene 2 33 ochotona tedfordi china yushe basin late miocene 2 27 ochotona cf whartoni irkutsk oblast and yakutia pleistocene see also north america 28 ochotona zabiensis southern poland early pleistocene 2 27 ochotona sp greece maritsa pliocene 28 ochotona sp hungary ostramos pleistocene 28 ochotona sp siberia pleistocene 28 ochotona sp yakutia pleistocene 28 north america ochotona gromovi us colorado pliocene see also eurasia 2 ochotona spanglei us late miocene or early pliocene 2 28 32 34 35 n 1 ochotona tologoica us colorado pliocene see also eurasia 2 ochotona whartoni giant pika us canada pleistocene to early holocene see also eurasia 2 28 32 36 37 n 2 ochotona wheatleyi us alaska pliocene late pleistocene 2 ochotona zazhigini us colorado pleistocene see also eurasia 2 extinct small pikas similar to the o pusilla group pleistocene 28 32 paleontologists have also described multiple forms of pika not referred to specific species ochotona indet or not certainly identified o cf antiqua o cf cansus o cf daurica o cf eximia o cf gromovi o cf intermedia o cf koslowi o cf lagrelii o cf nihewanica the statuses of ochotona proochotona kirgisica and o spelaeus are uncertain 2 the pusilla group of pikas is characterized by archaic plesiomorphic cheek teeth and small size 32 pikas on the whole have been described as one of the most complex and problematic groups in mammalian systematics 38 the north american species migrated from eurasia they invaded the new world twice o spanglei during the latest miocene or early pliocene followed by a roughly three million year long gap in the known north american pika record 28 o whartoni giant pika and small pikas via the bering land bridge during the earliest pleistocene 28 ochotona cf whartoni and small pikas of the o pusilla group are also known from siberia the extant endemic north american species appeared in the pleistocene the north american collared pika o collaris and american pika o princeps have been suggested to have descended from the same ancestor as the steppe pika o pusilla 28 the range of ochotona was larger in the past with both extinct and extant species inhabiting western europe and eastern north america areas that are currently free of pikas pleistocene fossils of the extant steppe pika o pusilla currently native to asia have been found also in many countries of europe from the united kingdom to russia and from italy to poland and the asiatic extant northern pika o hyperborea in one location in the middle pleistocene united states 2 pika ochotona sp fossil distribution extinct pikas and ochotona indet are red steppe pika o pusilla blue northern pika o hyperborea green other extant pikas black 2 39 n 3 fossil occurrences of leporids and ochotonids and global environmental change climate change c 3 c 4 plants distribution 2 while ochotona is the only currently living genus of ochotonidae extinct genera of ochotonids include albertona alloptox amphilagus australagomys austrolagomys bellatona bellatonoides bohlinotona cuyamalagus desmatolagus eurolagus gripholagomys gymnesicolagus hesperolagomys heterolagus kenyalagomys lagopsis marcuinomys ochotonoides ochotonoma oklahomalagus oreolagus paludotona piezodus plicalagus pliolagomys prolagus proochotona syn ochotona pseudobellatona ptychoprolagus russellagus sinolagomys titanomys and tonomochota 2 40 the earliest one is desmatolagus middle eocene to miocene 42 5 14 8 ma 2 usually included in the ochotonidae sometimes in leporidae or in neither ochotonid nor leporid stem lagomorphs 41 ochotonids appeared in asia between the late eocene and the early oligocene and continued to develop along with increased distribution of c 3 grasses in previously forest dominated areas under the climatic optimum from the late oligocene to middle miocene they thrived in eurasia north america and even africa the peak of their diversity occurred during the period from the early miocene to middle miocene most of them became extinct during the transition from the miocene to pliocene which was accompanied by an increase in diversity of the leporids it has been proposed that this switch between ochotonids and larger leporids was caused by expansion of ...