The Forrest's pika belongs to the pika family, Ochotonidae, which consists of small mammals that have short ears, forelimbs very slightly longer than hindlimbs, and no external tail. It was first described by the British zoologistMichael Rogers Oldfield Thomas in 1923, who gave it the scientific nameOchotona forresti. The taxonomy of the species is unclear. It was earlier assigned as a subspecies of the Moupin pika by Feag and Kao in 1974, Weston in 1982, and Honacki, Kinman, and Koeppl in 1982. It was also assigned to the Royle's pika by Corbet in 1978, and the steppe pika by Ellerman and Morrison-Scott in 1951. It is sympatric with the Gaoligong pika, Ochotona macrotis chinensis, Ochotona gloveri calloceps, Royle's pika and possibly with the Moupin pika, and allopatric with the Royle's pika. However, according to morphometric and genetic studies, the Forrest's pika is a separate species that is confined to the Gaolingong Mountains. The Gaoligong pika and black pika have been treated as separate species, but are now considered to be conspecific, representing a melanisticcolour phase of Forrest's pika. O. f. duoxianglaensis is evidently synonymous with the Moupin pika. It may also be closely related to the Chinese red pika.
Description
The Forrest's pika is similar to a small hare, measuring in length, and weighing. The greatest length of the skull is, and the skull is more curved than the Moupin pika. It also has a broad interorbital region, and rectangular, broad nasals. It does not have a tail. The summer dorsal pelage and ventral pelage are dark rufous or blackish brown. The ears are rounded, measure in length, and feature dark gray spots in the back. In a few individuals, the spots form a dorsal collar on the nape and extend onto the face, but the forehead remains brown. The dorsal side of the ears are light chestnut in color, and have a white rim. The winter dorsal pelage is grayish brown which is slightly lighter in tone than the ventral pelage. The feet are dull white in color, the foreclaws are long, and the hindfeet are long. The incisive foramen is combined with the palatal foramina, and has a wavy edge. The Moupin's pika is similar to the Forrest's pika, but it has paler ventral pelage, shorter foreclaws, a narrower skull especially across the cheek bone, and buffy patches behind the ears, which do not meet around the back of the neck.
The Forrest's pika is a generalist herbivore. Although very little is known about its behavior and ecology, the Forrest's pika is speculated to dig burrows. Very little or nothing is known about its reproduction.
Status and conservation
In 1994, the Forrest's pika was assessed as insufficiently known on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, and in 1996 its status was changed to near threatened. It was re-assessed in 2008 and 2016, and rated as a species of least concern because although the current state of its population trend is unclear, its population is not considered to be declining near the rate required to warrant the species a threatened status. Although no natural historic or ecological investigations have been done on the Forrest's pika, there are no known threats to its population. It is, however, possibly threatened by the loss of montane woodlands. The Chinese regional Red List has described the species as near threatened.
