MAMMALS THAT GNAW 97 



statements rest ; but since remains of the existing species are found in the 

 superficial beds in the neighbourhood of Rome, there is a considerable likelihood 

 that its alleged occurrence in Italy within the historic period may be based on 

 fact. The lake-cities or " phalbauten " of Switzerland afford evidence of the 

 abundance of beavers in that country during the pre-historib period, and in 

 the last century a few were still to be found in the Aar, Limmat, Reuss, and 

 other tributaries of the Rhine. That some lingered on into the present 

 century is proved by a specimen from the Rhine exhibited in the Jardin des 

 Plantes in 1829 ; and there is evidence of their presence in the early part of 

 this century both in the Rhine and the Rhone basins. 



In Germany fossil remains of beavers are found in several of the great 

 caves, more especially in that of Gailenreuth in Franconia. As late as the 

 closing decades of the last and the early ones of the present century, colonie.s 

 of these animals were abundant on many of the German livers, remnants of 

 which still exist here and there up to the present time. In North- Western 

 Germany the Moselle and the Maas were formerly noted habitats of these 

 animals, although we have no record of the date of (heir disappearance, even 

 if this has j-et taken place. The Lippe, which, like the Moselle, is a tribu- 

 tary of the Rhine, wai likewise a well-known haunt. Thus at Ketlingliausen, 

 and still higher up the river at Padderbun, beavers were abundant, and 

 formed regular colonies, like their Canadian cousins, at the beginning of the 

 present century, and it is probable that some few still exist. Proceeding 

 northward to the basin of the Elbe, the account by Meyernick, published in 

 1829, of a colony on one of the tributaries of this river near Magdeburg, is 

 too well known to need repetition. Lower down the river at Wittenberg, 

 and also at Kahnert, they were also comparatively abundant in 1801 ; and at 

 the former locality there is evidence of their occurrence in 1848, and again 

 as late as 1878, when no less tlian eight individuals were observed in an old 

 river channel. Again in Bohemia, the valley of the Moldau, with its numer- 

 , ous affluents, which forms the upper reaches of the extensive basin drained 

 by the Elbe, abounded in beavers up to the year 1848, since which date, in 

 spite of strict precaution, they have probably been greatly reduced in num- 

 bers. The basin of the Darmbe, in South-Eastern Germany, is, however, 

 probably the greatest stronghold of German beavers at the present time. In 

 1837 the small river Amper, a tributary of the Isar, situated some distance 

 to the north of Munich, was occupied by several colonies, which were pre- 

 served as a valuable commercial property. There is also good evidence of 

 the existence of the last-named colonies, as well as of others on the Isar, 

 Iller, and Salzach — tributaries of the Danube — up to 1846, since which date 

 I have been unable to come across any records of them. 



There is a dearth of information with regard to the presence of beavers 

 lower down the Danube valley in Austria-Hungary and Turkey ; but it is 

 certain that they did, or do still, exist in the former regions ; and they have 

 also been recorded from the Lower Danube on well-authenticated evidence. 

 That beavers may have existed, or still exist, in other parts of European 

 Turkey, is suggested by the fact of their appearance in Asia Minor. They 

 have been recorded in the upper Euphrates valley by Heifer in a book 

 published in 1879 ; while Eichwald long since mentioned their occurrence in 

 the rivers of the Caucasus; and Smarda included them in his list of the 

 Mammals of Mesopotamia. Messrs. Danford and Alston observe that trust- 

 worthy authorities at Kaisariyeh (a town in Rumelia, on the Kizil river, 

 flowing into Ihe Black Sea) stated "that in the marshes between that place 

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