Canadian beaver vs

Castor canadensis compared with Postia lowei

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Polyporales (Polyporales)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Dacryobolaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Postia
Species	Castor canadensis	Postia lowei

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

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.

Postia lowei is a soft, white to cream-colored bracket fungus forming annual, shelf-like fruiting bodies on decaying conifer wood. It inhabits boreal and montane coniferous forests, growing on dead fallen logs and stumps. This brown-rot saprotrophic fungus decomposes the cellulose of conifer wood, leaving characteristic brown cubical rot.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden