468 HISTORY OF THE BEAVER CHAP. 
In the skull the infraorbital foramen is small as in Squirrels. 
The postorbital process has practically vanished. The four 
molars stand out laterally from the jaws. The incisors, as might 
be surmised from the habits, are particularly strong. The stomach 
has near the entrance of the oesophagus a glandular patch, 
which seems to be like that of the Wombat (see p. 144). 
In both sexes the cloaca is very distinct and comparatively 
deep. 
The two species of the genus are C. canadensis and C. fiber. 
The latter is of course the European species, which is now found 
in several of the large rivers of Europe, such as the Danube 
and the Rhone. But it is everywhere getting scarce, and lmited 
to quite small and isolated colonies. 
In this country it is absolutely extinct and has been since 
before the historic period. There is apparently no documentary 
evidence of its survival down to this period. But the numerous 
names of places which are called from this animal illustrate its 
former prevalence. Examples of such names are Beverley in 
Yorkshire, and Barbourne or Beaverbourne in Worcestershire. 
In Wales, however, Beavers seem to have persisted longer. But 
they were rare in the Principality for a hundred years or so before 
the Norman Conquest. The king Howel Dda, who died in 
948 a.D., fixed the price of a Beaver skin at 120 pence, the 
skins of Stag, Wolf, and Fox being worth only 8 pence apiece. 
The Beaver was called by the Welsh “ Llost-llyddan,” which 
means “broad-tail.” Its existence in the country is handed 
down in the name of Llyn-ar-afange, which means Beaver lake. 
The last positive record of the Beaver in Wales seems to be the 
statement of Giraldus Cambrensis that in 1188 the animal was 
still to be found in the river Teivy in Cardiganshire. In 
Scotland the Beaver is said to have continued down to a later 
date. Ireland it never reached. The remains of this animal 
by their abundance show the former prevalence of C. jiber 
in this country. It is known from the fens of Cambridgeshire, 
and from superficial deposits elsewhere. The Thames formerly 
had its Beavers, and apparently it was widely spread through the 
country generally. 
The Beaver not only furnishes collars and cuffs for coats ; 
it was used, as every one knows, to provide hats. But the useful- 
ness of the animal by no means ended here in the eyes of our 
