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Castoroides (Latin: "beaver" (castor), "like" (oides) [2]), or the giant beaver, is an extinct genus of enormous, bear-sized beavers that lived in North America during the Pleistocene. Two species are currently recognized, C. dilophidus in the Southeastern United States and C. ohioensis in most of North America.
Skull of a beaver. Castoridae is a family of rodents that contains the two living species of beavers and their fossil relatives. A formerly diverse group, only a single genus is extant today, Castor. Two other genera of "giant beavers", Castoroides and Trogontherium, became extinct in the Late Pleistocene.
In their natural range in North America, bears and wolves prey on the beavers and keep the population under control. One observer noted that anyone considering importing beavers should also import bears, those being the beavers' natural predators. [4] According to a June 2011 NPR report, 200,000 beavers were living in the area. [6]
The American beaver is slightly smaller in average body mass than the Eurasian species. [35] The head-and-body length of adult North American beavers is 74–90 cm (29–35 in), with the tail adding a further 20–35 cm (7.9–13.8 in).
North American beavers build more open-water lodges than Eurasian beavers. Beaver lodges built by new settlers are typically small and sloppy. More experienced families can build structures with a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and an above-water diameter of 6 m (20 ft).
At 90–113 kilograms (198–249 lb), 40% larger than the living capybara, [1] N. pinckneyi is one of the largest rodent species ever discovered, surpassed only by Josephoartigasia monesi, several species of Phoberomys, and possibly the Pleistocene giant beaver. [2] Remains have been found in southern North America, from Arizona to Florida to ...
The mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa) [Note 1] is a North American rodent.It is the only living member of its genus, Aplodontia, and family, Aplodontiidae. [2] It should not be confused with true North American and Eurasian beavers, to which it is not closely related; [3] the mountain beaver is instead more closely related to squirrels, although its less-efficient renal system was thought to ...
The giant beaver (Castoroides ohioensis) Several of the extinct South American dinomyids were much bigger than the modern rodents. Josephoartigasia monesi was the largest-known rodent of all time, approximately weighing an estimated 480–500 kg (1,060–1,100 lb). [205] Phoberomys pattersoni weighed 125–150 kg (276–331 lb). [205]