The genus name Ochotona stems from the Mongolian word for pikas, ochodona. The species name princeps comes from the Latin word for chief, referring to the Chipewyan Indian name for the pika: “little ...

The American pika (Ochotona princeps) is a "greyish-brown, rabbit-like creature the size of a grapefruit and nearly as round," said the BBC. They live primarily in "cool mountainous environments ...