Helan Shan Pika

Open encyclopedia reference

The Helan Shan pika (Chinese: 贺兰山鼠兔; pinyin: Hèlánshān shǔtù) or silver pika (Ochotona argentata) is a rock-dwelling species of pika that is endemic to a small region of the Helan Mountains in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia, China. As a pika, it is a small mammal that resembles and is closely related to rodents. It is a large species relative to other pikas, and has an orange-red fur coat that changes to silver in winter. This pika typically lives in forested areas among rocks and in tunnels and rock slides formed by human mining activities.

The Helan Shan pika is an herbivore and builds haypiles out of vegetation for food storage, like most other pikas. It makes little noise compared to other pikas, outside of the breeding season, and is potentially active at night. It is closely related to Pallas's pika, and is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to deforestation across its limited distribution.

Wikipedia contributors, Helan Shan pika; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:05:36.379009+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Ochotona (Pika) argentata Howell, 1928

Name authority

Howell, 1928

Common name

Helan Shan Pika

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Lagomorpha

Family

Ochotonidae

Genus

Ochotona

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderLagomorpha Brandt, 1855
12. familyOchotonidae Thomas, 1897
13. genusOchotona Link, 1795
14. subgenusPika Lacépède, 1799
15. speciesOchotona (Pika) argentata Howell, 1928

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ochotona. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 30 records assigned to Ochotonidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=727746 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:48DFS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.