Ochotona (Conothoa) rutila Severtzov 1873

Ochotona (Conothoa) rutila Severtzov 1873, Izv. Obshch. Lyubit. Estestvozn., 8 (2): 83.

Type Locality: "...in mountains near Vernyi[Alma-ata]... 7000-8000 ft. " [2134-2438 m]. Restricted by Shnitnikov (1936) to valley of Maly Alma-atinsk River, Zailisk Alatau Mtns, Kazakhstan (43E05'N, 77E10'E).

Vernacular Names: Turkestan Red Pika.

Distribution: Isolated ranges from the Pamirs (Tajikistan) to Tien Shan (SE Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, SE Kazakhstan); perhaps N Afghanistan and E Xinjiang (China). Zhang et al. (1997) recorded it from Batang, Sichuan province, but this seems unlikely, and the record may be based on a misidentified gloveri .

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc); however, sporadically distributed throughout its range, and common in only a few localities (A. T. Smith et al., 1990).

Discussion: Subgenus Conothoa . Apparently an allospecies of O. erythrotis, which has sometimes been included in rutila; see comments therein.