The ruffle's front teeth are designed for eating mosses and lichen.
The ruffle, Rupesaltor villupes, is a long-legged pika from the African-European Mountains.
Although the mountain areas of the world are so isolated and widely distributed that they can largely be regarded as separate faunal provinces, the fauna of the fold-mountain belt between Africa and Europe show characteristics that are typical of mountain life the world over. The ruffle exhibits many of these features. It has a rounded head and body, and disc-like ears (adaptions that guard it against cold). It has long hair under the neck and body to protect its legs from the cold and its teeth are well adapted for grazing mosses and lichens. The upper incisors are set at an angle and are used for scraping the patchy vegetation from the surfaces of rocks and boulders.
The ruffle is sure-footed over boulders and loose scree.
Shaggy hair on the undersides of its legs and on its feet give it a booted appearance.