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Pika
A pika ( or ; archaically spelled pica) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America. With short limbs, very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative, the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains is found at heights of more than , among the highest of any mammal. Pikas prefer rocky slopes and graze on a range of plants, mostly grasses, flowers and young stems. In the autumn they pull hay, soft twigs and other stores of food into their burrows to eat during the long, cold winter. The pika is also known as the whistling hare because of its high-pitched alarm call when diving into its burrow. The name ‘pika’ appears to be derived from the Tungus ''piika'', and the scientific name ''Ochotona'' is from the Mongolian word ''ogutun-a, оготно'', which means pika. It is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Collared Pika
The collared pika (''Ochotona collaris'') is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae, and part of the order Lagomorpha, which comprises rabbits, hares, and pikas. It is a small (about 160 g) alpine lagomorph that lives in boulder fields of central and southern Alaska (U.S.), and in parts of Canada, including northern British Columbia, Yukon, and western parts of the Northwest Territories. It is closely related to the American pika (''O. princeps''), but it is a monotypic form containing no recognized subspecies. It is asocial, does not hibernate, and spends a large part of its time in the summer collecting vegetation that is stored under rocks ("haypiles") as a supply of food for the winter. Some individuals have been observed collecting and consuming dead birds as sources of fat and protein. Thousands of trips are made during July and August to collect vegetation for winter. Description Appearance The appearance of collared pikas is similar to other member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Pika
The American pika (''Ochotona princeps''), a diurnal species of pika, is found in the mountains of western North America, usually in boulder fields at or above the tree line. They are herbivorous, smaller relatives of rabbits and hares. Pikas have two different ways of foraging; they either directly consume food or they cache food in piles for the winter (haying). Pikas are vocal, using both calls and songs to warn when predators are nearby and during the breeding season. Predators of the pika include eagles, hawks, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, and weasels. Recent studies suggest some populations are declining due to habitat loss and global warming. They generally cannot tolerate temperatures above . Currently the American pika is considered a species of least concern. Description American pikas, known in the 19th century as "little Chief hares", have a small, round, ovate body. Their body lengths range from . Their hind feet range from 25 to 35 mm (1–1½ in). They ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daurian Pika
The Daurian pika (''Ochotona dauurica'') is a small relative of rabbits and hares in the order Lagomorpha. It is well known for its “barking” alarm call, and for its peculiar habit of making hay to help survive the winter. There are 4 recognized subspecies, ''Ochotona dauurica annectens, O.d. bedfordi, O.d. dauurica, ''and'' O.d. mursavi''. Daurian pikas, like other lagomorphs, are characterized by a secondary set of incisor teeth. They are sexually monomorphic, with thick reddish coats. Pikas have no external tail, and their ears are large and rounded. The auditory bullae, a feature of the skull of daurian pikas are small in comparison to many other pikas. This is thought to be related to their fairly low altitude habitat preference. They are considered keystone species within their habitat. Range and habitat Daurian pikas are found throughout Mongolia, southern Russia, Manchuria and in several provinces of China. They live in mountainous regions, and are found at altitud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sardinian Pika
The Sardinian pika (''Prolagus sardus'') is an extinct species of pika that was endemic to the islands of Sardinia, Corsica and neighbouring Mediterranean islands until its extinction likely in Roman times. Unlike living pikas, which all belong to the genus '' Ochotona,'' the Sardinian pika was the last surviving member of the genus '' Prolagus,'' a genus of pika once widespread throughout western Eurasia and North Africa during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs. Anatomy The full skeletal structure of the Sardinian pika was reconstructed in 1967, thanks to the numerous finds of bones in Corbeddu Cave, which is near Oliena, Sardinia. Some years later, from these remains, the same researchers led by paleontologist Mary R. Dawson from the US were able to create a plaster reconstruction with good accuracy. The Sardinian pika was probably much stockier and more robust than extant species of pikas, and it probably resembled a sort of cross between a large wild rabbit and a pika. The fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagomorpha
The lagomorphs are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (hares and rabbits) and the Ochotonidae ( pikas). The name of the order is derived from the Ancient Greek ''lagos'' (λαγώς, "hare") + ''morphē'' (μορφή, "form"). There are 110 recent species of lagomorph of which 109 are extant, including 34 species of pika, 42 species of rabbit, and 33 species of hare. Taxonomy and evolutionary history Other names used for this order, now considered synonymous, include: ''Duplicidentata'' - Illiger, 1811; ''Leporida'' - Averianov, 1999; ''Neolagomorpha'' - Averianov, 1999; ''Ochotonida'' - Averianov, 1999; and ''Palarodentia'' - Haeckel, 1895, Lilian, 2016. The evolutionary history of the lagomorphs is still not well understood. Until recently, it was generally agreed that '' Eurymylus'', which lived in eastern Asia and dates back to the late Paleocene or early Eocene, was an ancestor of the lagomorphs. More re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large-eared Pika
The large-eared pika (''Ochotona macrotis'') is a species of small mammal in the family Ochotonidae. It is found in mountainous regions of Afghanistan, Tibet, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan and Tajikistan where it nests among boulders and scree. Description The large-eared pika has brownish-grey fur tinged with ochre. The forehead, cheeks and shoulder region have a reddish tinge which is more obvious in summer. The underparts are greyish-white. The four legs are all about the same length and the feet, including the soles, are covered with fur. An adult large-eared pika is long. Distribution and habitat The large-eared pika is native to mountainous regions of Central Asia. Its range includes Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Yunnan in China. Its minimum altitude is about and it has been recorded at altitudes of 6,130 metres (20,113 feet) in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prolagus
''Prolagus'' is an extinct genus of pika within the order Lagomorpha. Over 20 species of ''Prolagus'' have been named, beginning in the Early Miocene in Europe 20 million years ago, where it ranged widely for most of the epoch; by the end of the Middle Pleistocene, it was confined to a single species, the Sardinian pika (''P. sardus''), on the Mediterranean islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and surrounding islands, where it survived into historical times. In Africa and Asia, the genus is known from the Miocene and Pliocene. The scientific name may mean "before hares" or "primitive hares" (''pro-'' meaning "before" and ''lagos'' meaning "hare"). Taxonomy ''Prolagus'' was first named by Auguste Pomel in 1853. ''Prolagus'' has been considered by most taxonomists to be a member of the pika family Ochotonidae, but distinct from living pikas, which all belong to the genus '' Ochotona.'' Erbaleva in 1988 suggested it represented the only member of the monotypic family Prolagidae due to it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit species and its descendants, the world's 305 breeds of domestic rabbit. ''Sylvilagus'' includes 13 wild rabbit species, among them the seven types of cottontail. The European rabbit, which has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica, is familiar throughout the world as a wild prey animal and as a domesticated form of livestock and pet. With its widespread effect on ecologies and cultures, the rabbit is, in many areas of the world, a part of daily life—as food, clothing, a companion, and a source of artistic inspiration. Although once considered rodents, lagomorphs like rabbits have been discovered to have diverged separately and earlier than their rodent cousins and have a number of traits rodents lack, like two extra i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alarm Call
In animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation in the form of signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators. For example, the alarm call of the blackbird is a familiar sound in many gardens. Other animals, like fish and insects, may use non-auditory signals, such as chemical messages. Visual signs such as the white tail flashes of many deer have been suggested as alarm signals; they are less likely to be received by conspecifics, so have tended to be treated as a signal to the predator instead. Different calls may be used for predators on the ground or from the air. Often, the animals can tell which member of the group is making the call, so that they can disregard those of little reliability. Evidently, alarm signals promote survival by allowing the receivers of the alarm to escape from the source of peril; this can evolve by kin selectio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leporidae
Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 60 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word ''Leporidae'' means "those that resemble ''lepus''" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order Lagomorpha. Leporidae differ from pikas in that they have short, furry tails and elongated ears and hind legs. The common name "rabbit" usually applies to all genera in the family except '' Lepus'', while members of ''Lepus'' (almost half the species) usually are called hares. Like most common names, however, the distinction does not match current taxonomy completely; jackrabbits are members of ''Lepus'', and members of the genera ''Pronolagus'' and '' Caprolagus'' sometimes are called hares. Various countries across all continents except Antarctica and Australia have indigenous species of Leporidae. Furthermore, rabbits, most significantly the European rabbit, ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'', also have been introduced to most of Oceania and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Simon Pallas
Peter Simon Pallas FRS FRSE (22 September 1741 – 8 September 1811) was a Prussian zoologist and botanist who worked in Russia between 1767 and 1810. Life and work Peter Simon Pallas was born in Berlin, the son of Professor of Surgery Simon Pallas. He studied with private tutors and took an interest in natural history, later attending the University of Halle and the University of Göttingen. In 1760, he moved to the University of Leiden and passed his doctor's degree at the age of 19. Pallas travelled throughout the Netherlands and to London, improving his medical and surgical knowledge. He then settled at The Hague, and his new system of animal classification was praised by Georges Cuvier. Pallas wrote ''Miscellanea Zoologica'' (1766), which included descriptions of several vertebrates new to science which he had discovered in the Dutch museum collections. A planned voyage to southern Africa and the East Indies fell through when his father recalled him to Berlin. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oldfield Thomas
Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas (21 February 1858 – 16 June 1929) was a British zoologist. Career Thomas worked at the Natural History Museum on mammals, describing about 2,000 new species and subspecies for the first time. He was appointed to the museum secretary's office in 1876, transferring to the zoological department in 1878. In 1891, Thomas married Mary Kane, daughter of Sir Andrew Clark, heiress to a small fortune, which gave him the finances to hire mammal collectors and present their specimens to the museum. He also did field work himself in Western Europe and South America. His wife shared his interest in natural history, and accompanied him on collecting trips. In 1896, when William Henry Flower took control of the department, he hired Richard Lydekker to rearrange the exhibitions, allowing Thomas to concentrate on these new specimens. Thomas viewed his taxonomy efforts from the scope of British imperialism. "You and I in our scientific lives have seen th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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