Beavertail Prickly-pear vs Canadian beaver

Opuntia basilaris compared with Castor canadensis

Key Differences

• Beavertail Prickly-pear is Least Concern while Canadian beaver is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Beavertail Prickly-pear	Canadian beaver
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Cactaceae	Castoridae (Beavers)
Genus	Opuntia	Castor (Beavers)
Species	Opuntia basilaris	Castor canadensis

Conservation Status

Beavertail Prickly-pear

LC — Least Concern

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Beavertail Prickly-pear	Canadian beaver
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	1.0 m
Average Weight	—	25.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Beavertail Prickly-pear

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Canadian beaver

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (15 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Argentina, Chile).

Beavertail Prickly-pear

The Beavertail Prickly-pear (Opuntia basilaris) is a species in the genus Opuntia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Canadian beaver

The largest rodent in North America, Canadian beavers weigh up to 32 kg and are master ecosystem engineers inhabiting rivers, lakes, and wetlands across Canada and the northern United States. By felling trees and constructing dams up to hundreds of meters long, beavers create ponds that provide habitat for hundreds of species. Their lodges and canals transform entire watersheds. Once nearly hunted to extinction for their fur, beaver populations have recovered strongly.