Their bodies are small and round.ДЄt Rocky Mountain National Park, Pika live up high in the trees. One of the ways you can tell you are looking at a Pika is that they donвЂ™t have tails. Even though they resemble a rat, their closest relatives in the animal kingdom are hares and rabbits. Genetics, morphology and ecology reveal a cryptic pika lineage in the Sikkim Himalaya. вЂњThis study not only solved the taxonomic issue, but it found that this pika was very common, thus not at risk of endangerment вЂ“ which was terrific news.вЂќ вЂњThe only data we had on this form of pika indicated that the habitat at the type locality had been trashed and that the population was threatened,вЂќ Smith said. The Sikkim pikaвЂ™s actual conservation status, however, is yet to be evaluated. SoВ anВ improved understanding of the pikaвЂ™s biology and ecology is necessary to plan conservation efforts for the tiny mammals, she added.Д«ut at the moment, the new species seems to be abundant in Sikkim and may not be immediately threatened by extinction. However,В like the American pika that is disappearing across its range due to climate change, the Sikkim pika, too, is likely to be negatively affectedВ by climate change, co-author Uma Ramakrishnan of NCBS told Mongabay. In fact, since pikas in India occur in remote high elevations of the Himalayas, they remain poorly studied. Field work in other Himalayan regions of Arunachal Pradesh, Central Nepal (Annapurna and Langtang), Ladakh and Spiti has failed to uncoverВ this species, but further surveys in Bhutan and eastern Nepal are being considered. So far, the new species is known only from the state of Sikkim, the researchers say. curzoniae, shownВ in the photograph) that occurs in the Tibetan plateau.

The work was very well done, and addressed the pressing need to determine the status of the pikas found in Sikkim.вЂќ The new species, Sikkim pika, is also genetically distinct from its sister species, the Plateau pika (O. thibetana, but without an investigation, it could not be identified as an independent form. вЂњThis is a solid study and one that was much needed,вЂќ Andrew Smith, a pika expert from the Arizona State University who was not involved in the study, told Mongabay. By analyzing the pikaвЂ™s genetic data sampled from its poop, and comparing it with the DNA of other related pikas, the team found that not only is the Sikkim pika a distinct species, it is not even closely related to the Moupin pika with which it shares the highest morphological similarities. So instead of relying on error-prone methods of identifying species based on their morphological features, the researchers turned to the animalвЂ™s DNA. The slight differences in their morphology - which often go unnoticed in the field - can only be teased apart with careful skull measurements, according to Dahal. In fact, the Sikkim and Moupin pika look nearly identical, researchers write in the study published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. thibetana, it was classified as a subspecies of this species.вЂќ The new species - named Sikkim pika or Ochotona sikimeria - was previously classified as a sub-species of the Moupin pika or Ochotona thibetana. So itвЂ™s not as if no one had seen this animal before. вЂњIt is also the most common pika species in Sikkim. sikimaria and there are several specimens in museum collections of India,вЂќ lead author Nishma Dahal, a PhD student at the National Centre forВ Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, told Mongabay. The new species - named Sikkim pika or Ochotona sikimeria - was previously classified as a sub-species of the Moupin pika or Ochotona thibetana, known to occur in the mountains of the eastern Tibetan Plateau and along the Himalayan ridge in China, India, Myanmar, and Bhutan. In the remote upper reaches of the Eastern Himalayas in Sikkim, India, scientists have discovered a new species of pika, a cute rabbit-like mammal. At the moment, the new species seems to be abundant in Sikkim and may not be immediately threatened by extinction.By analyzing the pikaвЂ™s genetic data sampled from its poop, and comparing it with the DNA of other related pikas, the team found that not only is the Sikkim pika a distinct species, but it is not even closely related to the Moupin pika with which it shares the highest morphological similarities.In the remote upper reaches of the Eastern Himalayas in Sikkim, India, scientists have discovered a new species of pika, a cute rabbit-like mammal.

Pikka animoal