BEAVER 



inches; tail vertebrae, i6 inches; hind foot, 7 inches. Found 

 on the Rio Grande drainage of New Mexico and Texas. 



Woods Beaver. — Castor canadensis michiganensis Bailey. 

 wSize rather large, "colors very dark, ears and feet black; 

 . . . Color . . .in early winter pelage: upperparts dark 

 umber brown, brighter, almost 'mahogany brown on head 

 and cheeks." (Bailey) Total length, 47 inches; tail verte- 

 bras, 19 inches; hind foot, 7.4 inches; weight, 58 pounds. 

 Found in Upper Peninsula region of Michigan. 



Missouri River Beaver. — Castor canadensis missoiiriensis 

 Bailey. 

 vSomewhat smaller than typical canadensis; paler and duller 

 brown. Upperparts bright hazel brown; underparts smoky 

 gray. Thetype specimen, not full grown, measured, total 

 length, 36 inches; tail vertebras, 11 inches; hind foot, 6.8 

 inches. Found on the Missouri River drainage from 

 Nebraska north and west to Montana. 



Texas Beaver. — Castor canadensis texensis Bailey. 



Large and pale, most like frondator. Found in the region 

 drained by the Rio Colorado, eastern Texas. 



Golden Beaver. — Castor siihauratus suhauratus Taylor. 



A large Beaver similar in color to frondator, but darker. 

 Upperparts hazel to clay color; underparts sepia. Total 

 length, 47 inches; scaly portion of tail, 13 inches long; hind 

 foot, 7.8 inches. Found on the drainage of the Tuolumne 

 and wSan Joaquin Rivers, California. 



Shasta Beaver. — Castor suhauratus shastensis Taylor. 



Known only from skulls; in cranial characters nearest to 

 typical suhauratus. Found in Shasta County, California, 

 on the eastern slope of the main chain of the Sierra Nevada. 



Newfoundland Beaver. — Castor ccecator Bangs. 



Resembling typical canadensis but smaller and with marked 

 cranial differences. No external characters given by the 

 describer. Found in Newfoundland. 



******* 



Although the Beaver is scarce today compared to its abund- 

 ance when North America was first settled, it has played such 

 an important part in the history of our country and has been 

 mentioned so often in literature that to most people it is a 

 familiar animal. Fortunately the conservationists are work- 

 ing for the rehabilitation of this big rodent and in a few places 

 the Beaver is building up its numbers to such an extent that it 

 is becoming a common species again. A staple with the trap- 

 per and a standard of valuation in barter and exchange, the 

 pelt of the Beaver has been sought for centuries and the de- 

 mands of the fur trade all but exterminated the animal. 



Industries have depended upon the Beaver for their exist- 



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