Canadian beaver vs Wayside Pepperwort

Castor canadensis compared with Lepidium bipinnatifidum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	Wayside Pepperwort
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Brassicales (Brassicales)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Brassicaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Lepidium
Species	Castor canadensis	Lepidium bipinnatifidum

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Wayside Pepperwort

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	Wayside Pepperwort
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).

Wayside Pepperwort

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Mexico.

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.