Talus at the bottom of Mount Yamnuska, Alberta, Canada Individuals belonging to the same species are alerted by this signal. In alarm conditions, it takes cover under rocks and emits a chattering call which is similar to that of the northern pika ( Ochotona hyperborea) and two subspecies of the alpine pika, O. It has no alarm calls and no song vocalizations. In contrast with most other pikas, the Turkestan red pika is a quiet species, and is also commonly known as the "silent" pika. The anterior palatine foramen (funnel-shaped opening in the bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth, immediately behind the incisor teeth where blood vessels and nerves pass) and the palatal foramen are combined. The winter dorsal fur is pale brown and the ventral fur is white or light ochraceous in colour. The ventral fur is white or ochraceous in colour, but the chest has a rust-red transverse stripe. The flanks (sides of the body between the rib cage and the uppermost and largest part of the hip bone) have yellowish cinnamon-buff tinge. The summer dorsal fur is bright rufous, and it is white-spotted at the neck behind the ears, and the spots sometimes form a broad, yellowish white collar. It has 2.7 to 2.9 cm (1.1 to 1.1 in) long ears which have grayish black dorsal sides. The front portion of the nasal cavities are noticeably inflated, and are usually longer than the middle part of the frontal bone. Not the same structure as a pulmonary alveolus) above it. The frontal bone has no alveolus (hollow cavity in bone. The skull is large, measuring 4.6 to 5.3 cm (1.8 to 2.1 in) in length, and is moderately arched, and has broad and flat interorbital region (region of the skull is located between the eyes, anterior to the upper and back part of the skull). The Turkestan red pika measures 19.6 to 23 cm (7.7 to 9.1 in) in length, of which 9.5 to 11 cm (3.7 to 4.3 in) is the tail. Currently, it has no recognized subspecies. Smith listed the Turkestan red pika as a species in the third edition of Mammal Species of the World that was published in 2005. Multiple authors (Gureev in 1964 Weston in 1982 Feng and Zheng in 1985 and Feng, Cai, and Zheng in 1988) have since separated them as independent species, based on their colouration, zoogeography (branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with the present and past geographic distribution of animal species), and skull morphology. In 1951, Ellerman and Morrison-Scott included the Chinese red pika ( Ochotona erythrotis) and the Glover's pika ( Ochotona gloveri) as subspecies of the Turkestan red pika. It was first described by the Russian naturalist Nikolai Alekseevich Severtzov in 1873. The Turkestan red pika is one of the 30 recognized species of mammal in the family Ochotonidae.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |