An American beaver beside water.

American beaver (*Castor canadensis*) beside water.

Creator: Ryan Hodnett

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

View image source

Species record

American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Explore the American Beaver (Castor canadensis) species record in The Ark Is Earth, including classification, habitat, distribution, conservation information, and sources.

Summary

The American beaver is a large semiaquatic rodent of North American rivers and wetlands. Its native range includes Canada, the United States and northern Mexico; introduced populations have been established in Tierra del Fuego and parts of Europe. It fells woody plants and builds dams and lodges with continuously growing incisors, creating ponds and wetlands used by many species. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Classification in this archive

  1. Kingdom: Animals
  2. Phylum: Chordates
  3. Subphylum: Vertebrates
  4. Class: Mammals
  5. Order: Rodentia
  6. Family: Castoridae
  7. Genus: Castor
  8. Species: Castor canadensis

Habitat and distribution

Selected documented locations — not a complete species range.

Habitat
rivers, wetlands
Selected regions
North America
Selected countries
Canada, Mexico, United States

Conservation status

The Ark records: Least Concern.

Did you know?

  • A beaver's orange incisors keep growing, so it must gnaw wood to keep them at a workable length.
  • Beaver dams slow the flow of water in streams and rivers.

More images

An American beaver in a wetland.

American beaver (*Castor canadensis*) in a wetland.

Creator: lwolfartist

Licence: CC BY 2.0

View image source
American beaver standing at the edge of a pond among green vegetation.

American beaver at the edge of a pond.

Creator: lwolfartist

Licence: CC BY 2.0

View image source

Sources and attribution