NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Gansu Pika
Ochotona (Ochotona) cansus Lyon, 1907
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Ochotona cansus
Gustav Mützel · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Gansu pika (Ochotona cansus) or gray pika is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae. They are endemic to the Qinling mountains of China and tend to live in shrubby, high elevation environments. This small creature prefers to live near natural mounds so they can use them to search for predators and escape easily. The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers it a least-concern species, but pesticide application may threaten certain populations.
Wikipedia contributors, Gansu pika; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:49:42.457978+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ochotona (Ochotona) cansus Lyon, 1907
- Name authority
- Lyon, 1907
- Common name
- Gansu 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderLagomorpha Brandt, 1855
- familyOchotonidae Thomas, 1897
- genusOchotona Link, 1795
- subgenusOchotona Link, 1795
- speciesOchotona (Ochotona) cansus Lyon, 1907
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Ochotona. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Alpine PikaOchotona (Pika) alpina (Pallas, 1773) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-lipped PikaOchotona (Ochotona) curzoniae (Hodgson, 1858) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Forrest's PikaOchotona (Conothoa) forresti Thomas, 1923 | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Glover's PikaOchotona (Conothoa) gloveri Thomas, 1922 | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern PikaOchotona (Pika) hyperborea (Pallas, 1811) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Large-eared PikaOchotona (Conothoa) macrotis (Günther, 1875) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ochotona (Pika) mantchurica Thomas, 1909 | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nubra PikaOchotona (Ochotona) nubrica Thomas, 1922 | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ochotona (Pika) opaca Argyropulo, 1939 | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mongolian PikaOchotona (Pika) pallasi (Gray, 1867) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Little PikaOchotona (Lagotona) pusilla (Pallas, 1769) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Turkestan Red PikaOchotona (Conothoa) rutila (Severtzov, 1873) | OchotonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625313 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.
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:48DFT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.