North American Beaver - Subspecies

Subspecies

The first fossil records of beaver are 10 to 12 million years old in Germany, and they are thought to have migrated to North America across the Bering Strait. The oldest fossil record of beaver in North America are of two beaver teeth in Dayville, Oregon and are 7 million years old.

There are 25 subspecies of beaver in North America, but different subspecies have been reintroduced to areas with previously geographically isolated subspecies, following population decline or extirpation of the indigenous subspecies. This has led to very substantial mixing of the subspecies gene pools, and some subspecies may have disappeared entirely.

The most widespread subspecies are C. c. acadicus (New England beaver), C. c. canadensis (Canadian beaver), C. c. carolinensis (Carolina beaver), and C. c. missouriensis (Missouri River beaver). The Canadian beaver originally inhabited almost all of the forested area of Canada, and because of its more valued fur, was often selected for reintroductions elsewhere. The Carolina beaver is found in the southeastern United States, the Missouri River beaver, as its name suggests, is found in the Missouri River and its tributaries, and C. c. acadicus is found throughout the New England area in the northeastern United States.