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2011 and 2017 Pika Pathology Colorado

Metadata Updated: January 21, 2026

American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small lagomorphs that live in mountainous talus areas of western North America. Studies on the histopathology of American pikas are limited. This report summarizes the clinical histories, and gross and histologic findings of 12 American pikas, including nine captive and three wild animals. Death was often attributed to stress (transport, handling, and anesthesia) with few to no premonitory clinical signs. Two cases died due to infection: one had bacterial pyogranulomatous dermatitis, cellulitis, and lymphadenitis with sepsis; the other case had fungal necrotizing colitis. Incidental parasite infections included sarcocystosis, nematodiasis (oxyurids), and ectoparasitism. Most animals with adequate nutritional status had periportal hepatic lipidosis. This finding was absent in all animals with adipose atrophy, and it is possible periportal hepatic lipidosis is non-pathologic in American pikas. Three cases had myocardial mineralization that was considered the cause of death; the cause for mineralization was not determined, but may have been due to stress or vitamin E/selenium deficiency. Esophageal hyperkeratosis was noted in animals with a history of anorexia and negative energy balance. Accumulation of esophageal keratin may have been caused by lack of mucosal abrasion associated with ingestion. Several histologic findings that are likely normal in American pikas include splenic extramedullary hematopoiesis, thymic tissue in adults, and Clostridium in the enteric lumen.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_65205f70d34e44db0e2e44f4
Data Last Modified 2024-05-08T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20260121130127
Harvest Object Id 9ca213d9-e3dc-49a2-ad09-c9bb18e5c207
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
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Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 51b1a4369794b0bc109c8ca74b058cb4004f8034bf4d3373779a2db49a71e5ff
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -109.0500, 36.9800, -109.0500, 41.0000, -102.0300, 41.0000, -102.0300, 36.9800, -109.0500, 36.9800}

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