Kazakhstan pika

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Kazakhstan pika
Systematics
Subclass : Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate : Euarchontoglires
Order : Hare-like (Lagomorpha)
Family : Ochotonidae
Genre : Pika ( Ochotona )
Type : Kazakhstan pika
Scientific name
Ochotona opaca
Argyropolu, 1939

The Kazakhstan piphare ( Ochotona opaca ) is a species of mammal from the family of the piphare (Ochotonidae) within the hare-like (Lagomorpha). Their distribution area is limited to the highlands of Kazakhstan in the area of Lake Balkhash.

features

The Kazakhstan pika is a medium-sized pika with a body length of 15 to 20 centimeters and a weight of 100 to 175 grams. The rear foot length is 27 to 34 millimeters. The back color is ocher gray, the belly is sand-colored yellowish to whitish. The winter fur is longer and softer and has a sandy to yellowish gray color. The area above the neck gland is colored brown. The ears have a length of 12 to 23 millimeters and are rounded, they have a narrow light border.

The skull is medium in size with a length of 41 to 45, a width of 23 to 24 and a height of 15 to 17 millimeters. The eye sockets are very large, the incisor window and the palate window are separated from each other. The timpani-bubbles are comparatively large and wide. Compared with the skull of the sympatrically occurring Steppenpfeifhasen ( Ochotona pusilla ) the skull of Kazakhstan Pfeifhasen is larger and on. The species can hardly be distinguished from the Mongolian pigeon hare ( Ochotona pallasi ).

distribution

The Kazakh pika lives in the highlands of Kazakhstan , the distribution area extends over the areas north, east and west of Lake Balkhash .

Way of life

The habitat of the Kazakh pika is located in stony semi-desert areas and scrub regions at heights of 400 to 1000 meters. The animals are active during the day and night during the warm seasons, but avoid the strong midday heat. The cries of the animals can be heard well into the night, especially during the breeding season and during the hay-gathering phases. They dig their burrows in the ground, they use large and flat stones as hiding places and as observation posts and for warming up. The burrows are created as temporary burrows and hiding places or as brood burrows. The brood burrows have two to three brood chambers, numerous blind passages and two to 12 exits. Depending on the type of soil, they are dug up to 50 centimeters into the ground and occupy an area of ​​10 to 15 square meters. In winter the animals build burrows under the snow. The territories of the animals each have an area of ​​about 600 to 1300 square meters for the females and 4200 to 5200 square meters for the males, whereby those of the males overlap with the areas of several females. Both males and females defend the central areas of around 200 square meters against unwanted intruders. The population densities are around 270 to 4100 individuals per square kilometer, although there can be strong seasonal and annual fluctuations and the populations can grow 10 to 100 times. The populated areas are easily recognizable due to the well-trodden paths and the pills of the animals. In years with a high population density, the animals spread to neighboring regions.

Like other whistle hares, the animals mainly feed on green parts of plants, where they look for herbs and grasses in the vicinity of their burrows. From May to June they form balls of plant parts that can weigh between 20 grams and 20 kilograms. The balls consist of different types of plants and are hidden under flat stones or in bushes. In winter or in dry seasons the animals feed on these storage bales. The animals use a spectrum of different calls for communication, including alarm calls and reproductive sounds of both sexes. The main intra-species communication takes place in "singing", which goes hand in hand with a typical posture and is particularly intense in the warm phases.

The breeding season of the animals begins in April and lasts for two to three months. During this time, the females get up to three litters with 2 to 13 young animals each. The gestation period is 25 to 26 days, the young are born naked and with their eyes closed. The fur begins to grow after two days, the eyes are opened after 9 to 10 days and the females suckle the offspring for about 18 days. Females from an early litter can also give birth in the same year, but the males do not mate until the next year.

Systematics

The Kazakh pika is assigned as an independent species to the piper (genus Ochotona ) and the subgenus Pika . The first scientific description of the species comes from Argyropolu from 1939, who described it as Ochotona pricei opaca from the Karkaraly region and thus assigned it to O. pricei , which is now classified as a subspecies of the Mongolian pigeon . Accordingly, he was also assigned to the Mongolian Pika. In 2016, the Kazakhstan pika was re-established by a working group headed by Andrei Alexandrowitsch Lissowski on the basis of craniometric and molecular biological data of the mitochondrial DNA and placed in a related group with the Mongolian piper and the silver piper ( Ochotona argentata ).

Apart from the nominate form , no subspecies are distinguished.

Hazard and protection

The species is classified as “least concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) due to its regular and frequent occurrence in its habitat. There are no data available on the populations of the species; possible risks that could endanger the population are unknown. In grassland areas, they are fought as pests with poison.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l A.A. Lissovsky: Kazakh Pika - Ochotona opaca. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 55. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
  2. ↑ a b Ochotona mantchurica in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2017-3. Posted by: Andrew T. Smith , A. Lissovsky, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  3. ^ Andrey A. Lissovsky, Svetlana P. Yatsentyuk, Deyan Ge: Phylogeny and taxonomic reassessment of pikas Ochotona pallasii and O. argentata (Mammalia, Lagomorpha). Zoologica Scripta 45 (6), November 2016; Pp. 583-594. doi : 10.1111 / zsc.12180

literature

  • AA Lissovsky: Kazakh Pika - Ochotona opaca. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editors): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6), Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016; P. 55. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .

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