Russian J. Theriol. 7 (1): 516 © RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF THERIOLOGY, 2008 Taxonomy and distribution of the pikas (Ochotona, Lagomorpha) of alpina-hyperborea group in North-East China and adjacent territories Andrey A. Lissovsky, Qisen Yang & Alexander E. Pilnikov ABSTRACT. Pikas from Manchurian region were studied using craniometric, bioacoustical, and genetic features. The study revealed that southeast Transbaikalia and northern Manchuria are inhabited by only one taxon of the species level Ochotona mantchurica Thomas, 1909. The name cinereofusca should be allocated to a form of O. hyperborea from the left bank of Shilka River. The taxon coreana does not belong either to O. mantchurica or O. hyperborea, and, probably, should be recognized as a separate species O. coreana Allen & Andrews, 1913. KEY WORDS: Taxonomy, distribution, pikas, alpina-hyperborea, Ochotona, mantchurica, coreana, scorodumovi, cinereofusca. Andrey A. Lissovsky [[email protected]], Zoological Museum of Moscov State University, Bolshaya Nikitskaya ul. 6, Moscow 125009, Russia; Qisen Yang [[email protected]], Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, B5 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China; Alexander E. Pilnikov [[email protected]], Chitinskaya antiplague station, Chitinskaya oblast, Krasnokamensk-3, 107/14, 674673, Russia. Ñèñòåìàòèêà è ðàñïðîñòðàíåíèå ïèùóõ (Ochotona, Lagomorpha) ãðóïïû alpina-hyperborea â Ñåâåðî-Âîñòî÷íîì Êèòàå è ïðèëåæàùèõ òåððèòîðèÿõ À.À. Ëèñîâñêèé, ×. ßí, À.Ý. Ïèëüíèêîâ ÐÅÇÞÌÅ. Èññëåäîâàíû ïèùóõè ìàí÷æóðñêîãî ðåãèîíà, ñ èñïîëüçîâàíèåì êðàíèîìåòðè÷åñêèõ, áèîàêóñòè÷åñêèõ è ãåíåòè÷åñêèõ ïðèçíàêîâ. Ïîêàçàíî, ÷òî þãî-âîñòî÷íîå Çàáàéêàëüå è ñåâåðíóþ Ìàí÷æóðèþ íàñåëÿåò îäèí òàêñîí âèäîâîãî ðàíãà Ochotona mantchurica Thomas, 1909. Íàçâàíèå cinereofusca ïðèíàäëåæèò ôîðìå Ochotona hyperborea ñ ñåâåðíîãî áåðåãà Øèëêè. Ôîðìà coreana íå âõîäèò íè â ñîñòàâ O. mantchurica íè O. hyperborea è, âåðîÿòíî, äîëæíà áûòü âûäåëåíà â ñàìîñòîÿ- òåëüíûé âèä O. coreana Allen & Andrews, 1913. ÊËÞ×ÅÂÛÅ ÑËÎÂÀ: Ñèñòåìàòèêà, ðàñïðîñòðàíåíèå, ïèùóõè, alpina-hyperborea, Ochotona mantchurica, coreana, scorodumovi, cinereofusca. Introduction River (Feng & Zheng, 1985; Smith et al., 1990; Niu et al., 2001; Hoffmann & Smith, 2005). This name is The taxonomy and distribution of pikas of alpina- sometimes applied also to some pika populations from hyperborea group were studied extensively during last Manchuria (Feng & Zheng, 1985; Niu et al., 2001). At years (Lissovsky, 2003, 2005; Lissovsky et al., 2007). the same time, the pikas living to the south of Shilka However, the China remains a blank spot yet in this River are commonly referred to O. alpina scorodumovi respect. There is a tangle of races inhabiting Manchuria in the Russian literature (Ognev, 1940; Yakhontov & and adjacent territories of Korea and Transbaikalia, Formozov, 1992; Sokolov et al., 1994). Yakhontov & which taxonomical assessment and names remain not Formozov (1992) expressed the opinion that the name clearly established. cinereofusca should be applied to the subspecies of The following nominal taxa of pikas were described northern pika O. hyperborea (Pallas, 1811). Pikas from from Manchuria: cinereofusca Schrenk, 1858 from the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains are most often upper Amur River; mantchurica Thomas, 1909 from named O. hyperborea mantchurica (Smith et al., 1990; the pass of the Chinese Eastern Railway through the Sokolov et al., 1994; Hoffmann & Smith, 2005), al- Great Khingan Mountains; coreana Allen & Andrews, though they are called sometimes O. alpina cinereofus- 1913 from the north of Korea; and scorodumovi Ska- ca. Pikas from the Northern Korea are traditionally lon, 1935 from the upper Argun River, surroundings of named O. hyperborea coreana. There were not any Kailastuy village. The name cinereofusca is usually special taxonomic revisions or published arguments in applied to the pikas inhabiting the lands south of Shilka favor of applying of one or another name to the alpina- 6 A.A. Lissovsky, Qisen Yang & A.E. Pilnikov hyperborea pikas distributed in the region under con- Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (MNB), Institute of sideration. Systematics and Ecology of Animals of the Siberian Craniometric study of representatives of the alpina- Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosi- hyperborea group as a whole (Lissovsky, 2003) re- birsk (ISEA), Far East State University, Vladivostok vealed that the pikas from southeast Transbaikalia (area (FEU), Tomsk State University (TGU), Geographical between Shilka and Argun rivers) and Manchuria do Faculty of Moscow State University (GFMU), College not fit within variation of the two principal species of of Wildlife of the Northeast Forestry University, Har- the group O. alpina and O. hyperborea. Subsequent bin (HCW), State Darwin Museum, Moscow, personal bioacoustical study (Lissovsky, 2005) revealed that the collections of N.D. Ovodov (Krasnoyarsk) and G.À. structure of acoustic signals of some specimens from Voronov (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk). the southeast Transbaikalia and from the north of Greater The localities from which the pikas are known in Khingan is identical and can be easily discriminated southeast Transbaikalia and Manchuria are shown in from the one known for other representatives of alpina- Fig. 1. The sample sizes and the museums where the hyperborea group due to the presence of two indepen- specimens are kept are indicated in the Appendix. dent sources of signals production in the acoustic chan- The skull measurements were collected during a nel. The only one species which range is adjacent with long time in a number of museums. When it became the discussed territory, O. hyperborea, is specific by obvious (Lissovsky, 2003à) that existing set of mea- some qualitative characters of the shape of the time- surements is insufficient for determination of pikas and-frequency modulation curve in the alarm calls. from Manchuria, the additional measurements were Besides, acoustic repertoire of O. hyperborea contains taken from the same skulls. These measurements are: common particular deep modulated song elements, maximal length of orbit, maximal width of orbit, maxi- which are absent in pikas from southeast Transbaikalia mal length of auditory bulla, interorbital constriction, and Manchuria. The genetic study confirmed taxonom- height of mandible, and width of processus articularis ic proximity of the pikas inhabiting southeast Trans- near coronoid protuberance. We were unable take addi- baikalia and the north of Lesser Khingan Mountains tional measurements in several museums, so these mea- (Lissovsky et al., 2007). surements were included only in analysis of the distri- The aim of this study is to analyze the morphometric bution of pikas from southeast Transbaikalia and Man- variation of the pikas of Manchurian region, including churia (n=55) and northern pikas from the Amur River the topotypical populations of the nominal taxa, and to basin and adjacent territories (Hentiyn Nuruu Range, specify taxonomical position of the pikas from Man- Hentiyn-Chikoy Mountains and Yablonovyii Range, churia. northeast Transbaikalia, Stanovoy Range and the ba- sins of Zeya and Bureya rivers, Sikhote-Alin Range, Materials and Methods Sakhalin Island) (n=67). All measurements were per- formed by AL. The canonical analysis of pikas from The sample of 864 intact skulls of adult pikas was southeast Transbaikalia, Manchuria, Amur River basin, used in order to examine the individual and intersample and adjacent territories were performed using samples distribution of the representatives of alpina-hyperborea with more than six individuals as a grouping variable. group. The sample contains 507 skulls of O. hyper- A preliminary analysis revealed a high value of borea, 224 skulls of O. alpina, 62 skulls of O. tu- mandible height for discrimination of pikas from the ruchanensis, 70 skulls of the races mantchurica and banks of Amur River. Because the manner of taking this scorodumovi and one skull of pika from coreana race. measure is quite strictly fixed we assume that measure- The specimens used in this study were identified using ments taken by different people would not contain a the morphological characters proposed by Lissovsky significant error. Therefore the mandible height of the (2003a, b). Eleven measurements were taken (with ac- adult specimens from coreana sample from vicinities curacy of 0.1 mm) from each skull as follows: condylo- of Fusong town (n=32) from the Institute of Zoology of basal length, length and width of palatine foramen, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOZ) was measured length of the bone ledge separating incisive and pa- by Yang. latine foramina, diastemal length, alveolar length of Intersample distribution was studied on the basis of maxillary toothrow, rostral length (from the anterior the samples including not less than four specimens. edge of premaxillary bones to the posterior edge of Each sample included the specimens collected in the maxillary toothrow alveoli), zygomatic breadth, pos- same strictly defined locality. torbital constriction, maximal width between lateral All calculations were performed in modules Basic edges of auditory bullae, and skull height. All measure- Statistics and Tables, General discriminant analysis, ments were normalized by variance for the sake of and Principal Components, and Classification Analysis correctness of statistical analyses. in Statistica 6 (StatSoft 2001). The studied specimens are housed in the Zoological Bioacoustical study was carried out on the basis of Museum of Moscow