Geographic Range
Ochotona rufescens
is distributed across mountainous middle Asia, from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran
to Armenia and SW Turkmenistan.
- Biogeographic Regions
- palearctic
Habitat
Afghan pikas are found in mountainous areas, often on talus slopes or in other areas
with rocks. They also construct burrows in dry soils.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- mountains
Physical Description
Average length and weight of
O. rufescens
is not reported but members of
Ochotona
weigh 125 to 400 g. Males and females are monomorphic. During the summer, they have
cream colored collars that are outlined with a russet pelage. Afghan pikas have small
heads with small round ears. They have very short legs with dense fur covering the
bottoms of their paws for added insulation.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes alike
Reproduction
Mating systems vary with habitat quality between populations. Monogamy and polygyny
have been observed in this species.
- Mating System
- monogamous
- polygynous
Ochotona rufescens
has a high rate of reproduction. Up to eleven young may be produced in one litter
and females can have up to five litters in extended breeding seasons. Gestation periods
for
O. rufescens
are not reported. Other species of
pika
generally have a thirty day gestation period. It also takes an average of thirty
days for a mother pika to wean her young.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
At birth, pikas are reported to weigh roughly 9 g. They have altricial young. Parental
care consists of approximately 30 days of feeding and protection in the burrow before
they are forced to disperse and fend for themselves.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
- provisioning
-
protecting
- female
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
- protecting
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
There are no reports on the lifespan of
O. rufescens
. Other Species in the genus
Ochotona
have been reported to live up to almost eight years. However, typically, pikas live
for only a few years in the wild and many pikas do not live through their first winter.
Behavior
Afghan pikas generally live in small family groups and share daily activities such
as watching for predators and gathering food. Density is up to 30 animals per acre.
Afghan pikas do not hibernate. They collect plants and stack them in “hay piles” to
dry. Once dried, the plants are stored in burrows for later consumption. They rely
on hay for bedding and food. It is also not uncommon for Afghan pikas to steal bedding
and food from other pikas or from other small mammals or birds. Pikas are often active
both day and night, there is no report of daily activity patterns for
O. rufescens
in the literature.
Home Range
Home range has not been reported.
Communication and Perception
In English, pika is translated as “whistling hare.”” Most pikas use whistling sounds
to communicate with each other. Afghan pikas are unique in that they do not have a
well developed larynx, used to make vocalizations. This is not to say that they make
no noise, but reports of their vocalizations are not found in the literature.
Like other mammals, Afghan pikas are expected to use chemical cues extensively in communication and perception as well.
- Other Communication Modes
- scent marks
Food Habits
Afghan pikas eat thistles and other xeric plants. They make hay piles to allow gathered
plants to dry. Once dried, the hay is then cached away in burrows. Caches are typically
restocked twice a year. This occurs once during the spring and once in the fall. Afghan
pikas also steal food and bedding material from other burrows.
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- wood, bark, or stems
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- Foraging Behavior
- stores or caches food
Predation
No report on predators is available. Given their small body size, it is likely that Afghan pikas are preyed on by terrestrial carnivores and raptors.
Ecosystem Roles
Afghan pikas impact vegetation communities throughout their range. They are also likely
to be important prey animals for birds of prey.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Afghan pikas are important members of their native ecosystems.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Afghan pikas are considered agricultural pests on crops and orchards in some parts
of their range.
- Negative Impacts
- crop pest
Conservation Status
Ochotona rufescens
is listed as lower risk on the IUCN list.
Additional Links
Contributors
Tanya Dewey (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
michael Triepke (author), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (editor, instructor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
- Palearctic
-
living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- polygynous
-
having more than one female as a mate at one time
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- social
-
associates with others of its species; forms social groups.
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- scent marks
-
communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- stores or caches food
-
places a food item in a special place to be eaten later. Also called "hoarding"
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
References
Erbajeva, M. 2001. New Ochotonids (Lagomorpha) from the Pleistocene of France. Geodiversitas , 23: 395-409.
Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, 2005. "Afghan pika" (On-line). Answers.com. Accessed October 19, 2006 at http://www.answers.com/topic/afghan-pika .
Hoffman, R., A. Smith, D. Wilson, D. Reeder. 2005. Mammal Species of the World, third edition . John Hopkins University Press: John Hopkins University Press.
Nowak, R. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Sixth Edition . Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press.