? Beavers
American Beaver
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Castoridae Hemprich, 1820 Genus: Castor Linnaeus, 1758
Species
C. canadensis C. fiber Public domain picture from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascideiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands... Families See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich (June 24, 1796 - June 30, 1825) was a German naturalist. ... A painting of Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné (   listen?), and who wrote under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of taxonomy. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... Binomial name Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to extinction in Europe, both for fur, and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. ...

Beavers are semi-aquatic rodents native to North America and Europe. They are the only members of the family Castoridae, which contains a single genus, Castor. Genetic research has shown the European and North American beaver populations to be distinct species and that hybridization is unlikely. Families See Classification Section The order Rodentia is the most numerous of all the branches on the mammal family tree. ... World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a grouping in the classification of living organisms having one or more related and morphologically similar species. ... In biology, a species is, loosely speaking, a group of related organisms that share a more or less distinctive form and are capable of interbreeding. ... In biology, hybrid has three meanings. ...

Beavers are best known for their natural trait of building dams in rivers, and building lodges in the eventual artificial pond. They are the second largest group of rodents, after the capybara, with adult specimens weighing over 25kg not being uncommon. Scrivener Dam, Canberra Australia, was engineered to withstand a once-in-5000-years flood event A dam is a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or retards the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... A typical gate keepers lodge at Mentmore, Buckinghamshire, England Lodge has several meanings that, in most cases, relates to a place of meeting: A place of residence A ski lodge within the snow fields; A hotel, especially with a rustic or wilderness theme and situated outside a city; A... Binomial name Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris (Linnaeus, 1766) The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest of living rodents (the long extinct rodent Phoberomys pattersoni was significantly bigger. ...

Species

The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to extinction in Europe, both for fur, and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. However the beaver is now being re-introduced throughout Europe. Several thousands live on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. They have been reintroduced in Bavaria and The Netherlands and are tending to spread to new locations. The beaver finally became extinct in Great Britain in the sixteenth centuryGiraldus Cambrensis reported in 1188 (Itinerarium ii.iii) that it was to be found only in the Teifi in Wales and in one river in Scotland, though his observations are clearly first-hand. There are proposals, and a great deal of interest, in reintroducing the European Beaver to Scotland. Binomial name Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 The European Beaver (Castor fiber) was hunted almost to extinction in Europe, both for fur, and for castoreum, a secretion of its scent gland believed to have medicinal properties. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... A dogs fur usually consists of longer, stiffer, guard hairs—which can be straight, wiry, or wavy, and of various lengths— that hide a soft, short-haired undercoat. ... Castoreum is the glandular secretion of the North American beaver. ... The Elbe River (Czech Labe   listen?, Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, Polish Łaba, German Elbe, Hungarian Elba) is one of the major waterways of central Europe. ... Length 800 km Elevation of the source 1753 m Average discharge 1800 m³/ s Area watershed 100,200 km² Origin Rhône glacier Mouth Mediterranean Sea Basin countries Switzerland, France The River Rhône ( Latin Rhodanus, French Rhône, Occitan Rose, German Rotten) is one of the major rivers (ca. ... Scandinavia, Fennoscandia, and the Kola Peninsula. ... Reintroduction is the deliberate release of animals from captivity into the wild. ... With an area of 70,553 km² (27,241 square miles) and 12. ... The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninkrijk der Nederlanden). ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... Giraldus Cambrensis (c. ... Events Saladin unsuccessfully besieges the Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in modern Syria. ... The River Teifi (Welsh: Afon Teifi) is a river in West Wales flowing into the sea below Cardigan town. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (Latin: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages with Official Status1 English Scottish Gaelic Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ...

The American Beaver (C. canadensis) is the national animal of Canada; in fact, it is depicted on the Canadian five-cent piece and was on the first Canadian postage stamp, the Three Penny Beaver. However, in several areas of that country, it is considered a pest. It is also the state animal of Oregon, the state mammal of New York (after the historical emblem of New Netherland) and the mascot of Oregon State University. It is also a common school emblem for engineering schools, including the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Binomial name Castor canadensis Kuhl, 1820 The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is a large semi-aquatic rodent native to Canada, most of the United States and parts of northern Mexico. ... A pest is an animal which has characteristics which people regard as injurious or unwanted. ... State nickname: Beaver State Other U.S. States Capital Salem Largest city Portland Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) Official languages None Area 255,026 km² (9th)  - Land 248,849 km²  - Water 6,177 km² (2. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki (R) Official languages None (English is de facto) Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ... New Netherland (Dutch: Nieuw-Nederland, Latin: Nova Belgica or Novum Belgium) was the territory claimed by the United Provinces (the Netherlands) on the eastern coast of North America in the 17th century. ... Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public research and degree-granting four-year university in the Oregon University System, located in Corvallis, Oregon. ... ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly known as Caltech) is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, is a research and educational institution located in the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. MIT is a world leader in science and technology, as well as in many other fields, including management, economics, linguistics, political science, and philosophy. ...

The extinct North American Giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) was one of largest rodents that ever evolved. It disappeared, with other large mammals in the Holocene extinction event, about 10,000 ybp. Giant beavers (Castoroides ohioensis) were a huge species of rodent, with a length up to 2. ... The Holocene extinction event is a name customarily given to the widespread, ongoing extinction of species occurring in the modern Holocene epoch. ...

Dams

The dams are created both as a protection against predators (bear is the only natural predator) and to provide easy access to food during winter. It is the sound of water in motion that stimulates the beavers to build, and if for example a pipe is placed under the dam to drain it the beavers will not do anything about it. However they repair any damage to the dam and build it higher as long as the sound is there. Conversely, beavers will attempt to build dams in response to recordings of water flowing even in the absence of water. For other meanings, see Bear (disambiguation). ...

The ponds created by well-maintained dams help isolate the beavers' home, their lodge, also created from severed branches and other natural sources. The lodge has an underwater entrance to make entry nearly impossible for any other animal (however, musk rats have been seen living inside beaver lodges with the beavers who made it). Binomial name Ondatra zibethicus (Linnaeus, 1766) The Muskrat or Musquash (Ondatra zibethicus), the only species in genus Ondatra, is a large aquatic rodent native to North America, and introduced in parts of Europe. ...

Destroying a beaver dam without removing the beavers takes a lot of effort.

Fur Trade

Beaver pelts were used as barter by Native Americans in the 17th century to gain European goods. They were then shipped back to Great Britain and France where they were made into clothing items. Widespread hunting and trapping of beavers lead to their endangerment. Eventually, the fur trade fell apart due to declining demand in Europe and the take over of trapping grounds to support the growing agriculture sector. Barter is a form of trade where goods or services are exchanged for a certain amount of other goods or services, i. ... A Sioux in traditional dress including war bonnet, circa 1908. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 km² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... The fur trade was a huge part in the early economic development of North America. ...

1911 encyclopedia text

Beaver, the largest European aquatic representative of the mammalian order RODENTIA, easily recognized by its large trowel-like, scaly tail, which is expanded in the horizontal direction. The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclop dia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

The word is descended from the Aryan name of the animal, cf. Sanskrit babhru's, brown, the great ichneumon, Lat. fiber, Ger. Biber, Swed. bäver, Russ. bobr'; the root bhru has given "brown," and, through Romanic, "bronze" and "burnish."

The true beaver (Castor fiber) is a native of Europe and northern Asia, but it is represented in North America by a closely-allied species (C. canadensis), chiefly distinguished by the form of the nasal bones of the skull.

A beaver dam in Yellowstone National Park

Beavers are nearly allied to the squirrels (Sciuridae), agreeing in certain structural peculiarities of the lower jaw and skull. In the Sciuridae the two main bones (tibia and fibula) of the lower half of the leg are quite separate, the tail is round and hairy, and the habits are arboreal and terrestrial. In the beavers or Castoridae these bones are in close contact at their lower ends, the tail is depressed, expanded and scaly, and the habits are aquatic. Image:Beaver dam in Yellowstone. ... Image:Beaver dam in Yellowstone. ... Genera Many, see the article Sciuridae. ...

A beaver dam in Tierra del Fuego

Beavers have webbed hind-feet, and the claw of the second hind-toe double. They have poor eyesight, but a keen sense of hearing, smell, and touch. Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1090 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 1090 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Tierra del Fuego (Spanish: land of Fire) is an archipelago at the southernmost tip of South America. ...

In length beavers--European and American--measure about 2 ft. exclusive of the tail, which is about 10 inches long. They are covered with a fur to which they owe their chief commercial value; this consists of two kinds of hair--the one close-set, silky and of a greyish colour, the other much coarser and longer, and of a reddish brown.

Beavers are essentially aquatic in their habits, never travelling by land unless driven by necessity. Formerly common in England, the European beaver has not only been exterminated there, but likewise in most of the countries of the continent, although a few remain on the Elbe, the Rhone and in parts of Scandinavia. The American species is also greatly diminished in numbers from incessant pursuit for the sake of its valuable fur. The Elbe River (Czech Labe   listen?, Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, Polish Łaba, German Elbe, Hungarian Elba) is one of the major waterways of central Europe. ... Length 800 km Elevation of the source 1753 m Average discharge 1800 m³/ s Area watershed 100,200 km² Origin Rhône glacier Mouth Mediterranean Sea Basin countries Switzerland, France The River Rhône ( Latin Rhodanus, French Rhône, Occitan Rose, German Rotten) is one of the major rivers (ca. ...

Beavers are sociable animals, living in streams, where, so as to render the water of sufficient depth, they build dams of mud and of the stems and boughs of trees felled by their powerful incisor teeth. In the neighbourhood they make their "lodges," which are roomy chambers, with the entrance beneath the water. The mud is plastered down by the fore-feet, and not, as often supposed, by the tail, which is employed solely as a rudder.

They are mainly nocturnal, and subsist chiefly on bark and twigs or the roots of water plants.

Beaver dam

A beaver lodge north of Saguenay

The dam differs in shape according to the nature of particular localities. Where the water has little motion it is almost straight; where the current is considerable it is curved, with its convexity towards the stream. The materials made use of are driftwood, green willows, birch and poplars; also mud and stones intermixed in such a manner as contributes to the strength of the dam; but there is no particular method observed, except that the work is carried on with a regular sweep, and that all the parts are made of equal strength. Photo taken by Daniel Mayer and released under terms of the GNU FDL. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Photo taken by Daniel Mayer and released under terms of the GNU FDL. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 2773 KB) Summary Beaver lodge from ZEC Martin-Valin, 100km north of Chicoutimi Licensing GPL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 2773 KB) Summary Beaver lodge from ZEC Martin-Valin, 100km north of Chicoutimi Licensing GPL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Saguenay refers to: the city of Saguenay, Quebec; the Saguenay River; the region of the Saguenay (see Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean); the legendary Kingdom of the Saguenay. ... A piece of waterlogged driftwood Driftwood is wood that has been washed onto a shore or beach by the action of the waves. ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow Salix alba - White Willow Salix alpina - Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow Salix arctica - Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita - Eared Willow Salix babylonica - Peking Willow Salix barrattiana - Barratts... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ...

"In places," writes Hearne, "which have been long frequented by beavers undisturbed, their dams, by frequent repairing, become a solid bank, capable of resisting a great force both of ice and water; and as the willow, poplar and birch generally take root and shoot up, they by degrees form a kind of regular planted hedge, which I have seen in some places so tall that birds have built their nests among the branches."

Their houses are formed of the same materials as the dams, with little order or regularity of structure, and seldom contain more than four old, and six or eight young beavers. It not unfrequently happens that some of the larger houses have one or more partitions, but these are only posts of the main building left by the builders to support the roof, for the apartments have usually no communication with each other except by water.

Beaver dam in Nesmith, South Carolina

The beavers carry the mud and stones with their fore-paws and the timber between their teeth. They always work in the night and with great expedition. They cover their houses late every autumn with fresh mud, which, freezing when the frost sets in, becomes almost as hard as stone, so that neither wolves nor wolverines can disturb their repose. Beaver dam Nesmith, South Carolina Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 15:06, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Beaver dam Nesmith, South Carolina Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 15:06, 13 Feb 2004 (UTC) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Binomial name Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 The Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), also known colloquially as the wolf, is a mammal of the Canidae family and the ancestor of the domestic dog. ... Binomial name Gulo gulo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Wolverine (Gulo gulo) is the largest species of the Mustelidae or weasel family, and is also called the Glutton or Carcajou. ...

The favourite food of the American beaver is the water-lily (Nuphar luteum), which bears a resemblance to a cabbage-stalk, and grows at the bottom of lakes and rivers. Beavers also gnaw the bark of birch, poplar and willow trees; but during the summer a more varied herbage, with the addition of berries, is consumed. Cultivar Group Brassica oleracea Capitata Group The cabbage (Brassica oleracea Capitata Group) is an edible plant of the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae). ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... This article is about woody plants of the genus Populus. ... Species About 350, including: Salix acutifolia - Violet Willow Salix alaxensis - Alaska Willow Salix alba - White Willow Salix alpina - Alpine Willow Salix amygdaloides - Peachleaf Willow Salix arbuscula - Mountain Willow Salix arbusculoides - Littletree Willow Salix arctica - Arctic Willow Salix atrocinerea Salix aurita - Eared Willow Salix babylonica - Peking Willow Salix barrattiana - Barratts...

When the ice breaks up in spring they always leave their embankments, and rove about until a little before the fall of the leaf, when they return to their old habitations, and lay in their winter stock of wood. They seldom begin to repair the houses till the frost sets in, and never finish the outer coating till the cold becomes severe. When they erect a new habitation they fell the wood early in summer, but seldom begin building till towards the end of August.

Castoreum is a substance contained in two pear-shaped pouches situated near the organs of reproduction, of a bitter taste and slightly foetid odour, at one time largely employed as a medicine, but now used only in perfumery. Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, objects, and living spaces a lasting and pleasant smell. ...

Fossil remains of beavers are found in the peat and other superficial deposits of England and the continent of Europe; while in the Pleistocene formations of England and Siberia occur remains of a giant extinct beaver, Trogontherium cuvieri, representing a genus by itself. The Pleistocene Epoch is part of the geologic timescale, usually dated as 1. ...

Reference

• ITIS 180211 2002-12-14

External links

• Canadian Heritage - the beaver as a national symbol
• A website about reintroducing the beaver to Scotland
• The romance of the beaver; being the history of the beaver in the western hemisphere, by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Illustrated with photographs from life and drawings by the author. Publisher: Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott company; London, W. Heinemann 1914 (a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries)

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. 1914 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) represents, in many ways, the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...