Ochotona mantchurica

The Manchurian pika belongs to the subgenus <Pika>, and its classification status is very confusing. It was previously a subspecies of the Northeastern pika. Russian scientists (Lissovsky, 2012) regarded it as an independent species, but we doubt the accuracy of this classification and further research is needed.

It is endemic to China and is only distributed in the northeast region, including Heilongjiang and northeastern Inner Mongolia.

The individual is medium-sized. The body length is 150-200mm. The ear height is 17-22mm. In summer, the back of the body is cinnamon-colored. The color of the side is lighter, light yellow-brown. The belly is light ochre or light yellow. The back of the body is light brown in winter. There are gray spots on the head and shoulders. Some individuals have no spots and the top of the head is relatively darker. The buttocks are earthy gray. The color of the abdomen is lighter, dark gray-white. There is a narrow white edge on the ear. In terms of skull morphology, the incisor foramen and the palatine foramen are completely separated, and there is no oval foramen in the frontal bone.