The Beaver Castor canadensis

A detailed Summary of The Beaver Castor canadensis

Beaver is a man's best friend! Just kidding, but the Beaver is the largest semi-aquatic mammal in the order Rodentia. The family Castoridae contains a single genus Castor with two species: Castor canadensis, found in the New World, and Castor fiber, found in the Old World. The two species differ mainly in the shape of the nasal bones and are so much alike that some authorities consider them to be varieties of the same species. Since 1975 Castor canadensis has been an official emblem of Canada.

Beavers are about 3 ft. in total length. Their long, flat, thick tail is about 1 ft. long. They weigh an average of 30 - 70 lbs., but specimens as heavy as 90 lbs. have been found and some extinct beavers were almost bear-like in size. The body is plump, the back arched, and the neck is thick. The skull is massive, with marked ridges for fixing the muscles that work the jaws. Like all rodents their teeth continue to grow their entire lives. While underwater, beavers can close their mouth by closing a flap located behind their teeth, allowing them to chew while holding their breath. Their ears and nostrils are valvular and also close while underwater. Furthermore, transparent eyelids called ni

Beavers are herbivores. They eat the leaves, twigs, and bark of most species of woody plants that grow near water, as well as many different kinds of herbaceous plants, especially aquatics. Bark is the beaver's staple food preferring poplar, aspen, willow, birch, and maple. To ensure a constant supply of food through the winter, the beaver spends a great deal of time in the autumn felling trees. The presence of pointed tree stumps is a good indication that there are beavers living nearby.

Beavers build sophisticated lodges out of sticks and mud. The dome shaped lodge is built in water and only has underwater entrances. To create a lodge, beavers build a dam (or a series of dams) downstream flooding the area and creating a deep pond. The pond must be deep enough so that the pond bottom won't freeze in the winter blocking the entrance to the lodge. As time goes by the beaver repairs and adds to the dam. Floating material lodges there, and vegetation growing on top adds its roots to the strength of the dam. Some beavers live by rivers and do not need to build dams. Instead, they live in burrows that they build on the riverbank. Although the beaver is a powerful swimmer, it has difficulty dragging over the ground the logs and branches it needs for building and for food. Colonies of beavers therefore dig canals from the water to a grove of trees. These canals are deep and u

Some common words found in the essay are:
Canada Beavers, Florida Southwestern, April June, Beaver Castor, World Castor, North America, January February, castor canadensis, hind feet, beavers build, found world, beavers live, underwater beavers, deep pond,

Approximate Word count = 938
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science