''Ochotona spanglei'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species of pika (

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

in the family Ochotonidae), known from Late Miocene - Early Pliocene fossil from Oregon ( USA). Fossils were also found in Nebraska referred to as ''Ochotona'' cf. ''spanglei''. ''Ochotona spanglei'' is the earliest known pika, which inhabited

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. Pika came at the Miocene- Pliocene boundary from Eurasia. Extinction of ''O. spanglei'' was followed by an approximately three-million-year-long gap in the known North American pikas record.

Fossil distribution

McKay Reservoir McKay Reservoir is a reservoir in Umatilla County of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is an impoundment of McKay Creek, a tributary of the Umatilla River. The reservoir is located south of Pendleton on U.S. Route 395. The reservoir has a capacity of ...

, Oregon, McKay Formation, Hemphillian (10.3 - 4.9 Ma), ''Ochotona spanglei'', the species was discovered here (described from a lower jaw with complete cheek dentition) *Honey Creek, Nebraska, Hemphillian (10.3 - 4.9 Ma), ''Ochotona'' cf. ''spanglei'' *Mailbox Prospect, Antelope County, Nebraska, Late/Upper Hemphillian (10.3 - 4.9 Ma), ''Ochotona'' cf. ''spanglei''

Notes

References

Additional references of the Paleobiology Database

Pikas Miocene species extinctions Zanclean extinctions Prehistoric lagomorphs Extinct animals of the United States Prehistoric mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1956 {{Paleo-mammal-stub