Castor canadensis (American beaver)
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Castoridae |
| Genus | Castor |
| Species | Castor canadensis |
| Common | American beaver |
| Diet | herbivore; bark, aquatic plants. |
| Habitat | Varies, aquatic. Usually on streams and rivers. Builds dams and lodges of branches |
| Description | Large brown rodent with wide flat, scaly, nearly hairless black tail. Hind feet webbed. |
| Skull Characteristics | Sciuromorphous. Large, massive, rodent skull with small infraorbital foramen, wide jugal and zygomatic plate. Auditory meatus with long “tube”. Lophate, prismatic teeth with rounded enamel loops. Distinctive depression in basioccipital. |
| Notes | Links to more species information:
Smithsonian Animal Diversity Web |