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2011 and 2017 Pika Pathology Colorado

Metadata Updated: December 11, 2025

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 September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date December 11, 2025
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
Harvest Object Id e15be0b7-d4a2-4c37-97a1-2c8653901b9a
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash ddf023a2a0b330166e70df172678494bbd5fcd222c14201b6b07b3f3b151aaeb
Source Schema Version 1.1

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