NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black-lipped Pika
Ochotona (Ochotona) curzoniae (Hodgson, 1858)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae), also known as the black-lipped pika, is a species of mammal in the pika family, Ochotonidae.
It is a small diurnal and non-hibernating mammal weighing about 140 g (4.9 oz) when fully grown. The animals are reddish tan on the top-side with more of a whitish yellow on their under-belly.
It prefers to live in elevations of 3,100 to 5,000 m (10,200 to 16,400 ft), mostly in the Tibetan Plateau, which is where the common name originates from. The species is found in China, India, and Nepal in high alpine deserts, steppe and meadows, as well as tropical and subtropical montane forests.
Wikipedia contributors, Plateau pika; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:02:15.085529+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Ochotona (Ochotona) curzoniae (Hodgson, 1858)
- Name authority
- (Hodgson, 1858)
- Common name
- Black-lipped 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) curzoniae (Hodgson, 1858)
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 |
| Gansu PikaOchotona (Ochotona) cansus Lyon, 1907 | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lagomys curzoniae Hodgson, 1858 Hodgson, 1858 | synonym |
| Lagomys melanostoma Büchner, 1890 Büchner, 1890 | synonym |
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=625314 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:48DFW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.