Description ¹⁰

The fur colour of Eurasian beavers varies geographically. Light, chestnut-rust is the dominant colour in Belarus. In Russia, the beavers of the Sozh River basin are predominantly blackish brown, while beavers in the Voronezh Reserve are equally distributed between brown and blackish-brown.

Eurasian beavers are one of the largest living species of rodents and are the largest rodent native to Eurasia. They weigh around 11–30 kg (24–66 lb). In Norway, adult males average 21.5 kg (47 lb) while females average 23.1 kg (51 lb), while another study found adults from the same country to average 18.4 kg (41 lb). By the average weights known, the Eurasian beaver appears to be the world's second heaviest rodent behind the capybara, but averaging slightly larger and heavier than the North American beaver. While the largest specimen confirmed on record weighed 31.7 kg (70 lb), the Smithsonian has reported that this species can exceptionally exceed 40 kg (88 lb). Typically, the head-and-body length is 80–100 cm (31–39 in) and the tail length is 25–50 cm (9.8–19.7 in).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Aleksandar, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Aleksandar
2. (c) Klaus Rassinger, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castor_fiber_04_MWNH_1717.jpg
3. (c) Klaus Rassinger, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castor_fiber_02_MWNH_1717.jpg
4. (c) Klaus Rassinger, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castor_fiber_01_MWNH_1717.jpg
5. (c) Klaus Rassinger, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castor_fiber_03_MWNH_1717.jpg
6. (c) Dariusz Kowalczyk, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_Castor_fiber_tracks_in_snow.jpg
7. (c) Lamiot, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gnawed_wood_Bois_rong%C3%A9_0_zoom.jpg
8. (c) JanB46, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beverburcht_aan_de_IJssel.JPG
9. (c) Juliux, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beaver_dam.jpg
10. Adapted by Aleksandar from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_beaver

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• NBN Atlas
• VertNet

iNat Map