Canadian beaver vs Common Wintergreen

Castor canadensis compared with Pyrola minor

Key Differences

• Canadian beaver is Not Evaluated while Common Wintergreen is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Canadian beaver	Common Wintergreen
Kingdom	Animalia (동물)	Plantae (식물)
Phylum	Chordata (척삭동물)	Magnoliophyta (피자식물문)
Class	Mammalia (포유류)	Magnoliopsida (목련강)
Order	Rodentia (설치류)	Ericales (진달래목)
Family	Castoridae (Beavers)	Ericaceae
Genus	Castor (Beavers)	Pyrola
Species	Castor canadensis	Pyrola minor

Conservation Status

Canadian beaver

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~15.0M

Trend: Stable →

Common Wintergreen

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Canadian beaver	Common Wintergreen
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).

Common Wintergreen

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Canadian beaver

북아메리카에서 가장 큰 설치류인 캐나다비버는 체중이 최대 32kg에 달하며 캐나다 및 미국 북부의 강, 호수, 습지에 서식하는 생태계 공학자의 대가입니다. 나무를 베고 수백 미터에 달하는 댐을 건설하여 수백 종에게 서식지를 제공하는 연못을 만들어냅니다. 이들의 보금자리와 수로는 유역 전체를 변화시킵니다. 한때 모피를 위한 남획으로 거의 멸종 위기에 처했으나, 비버 개체군은 강하게 회복되었습니다.

Common Wintergreen

<em>Pyrola minor</em>, commonly known as the common wintergreen or lesser wintergreen, is a small evergreen perennial herb in the family Ericaceae, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, reflecting severe and ongoing population declines driven primarily by habitat loss, succession of open woodland habitats, and changes in land management practices across its native range. The species occurs in Europe and North America, typically growing in acidic, humus-rich soils in boreal and montane coniferous or mixed woodlands, heathland, and mossy habitats. <em>Pyrola minor</em> is characterized by its rosette of dark, glossy, rounded evergreen basal leaves and a leafless flowering scape bearing a dense raceme of small, nodding, pale pink to white bell-shaped flowers produced in summer. The species requires mycorrhizal associations with soil fungi for successful establishment and growth, making it highly sensitive to disturbances that disrupt fungal networks in the soil. Unlike most of its congeners, <em>Pyrola minor</em> has an unsegmented, short, straight style protruding from each flower, a key distinguishing character. Biological traits including average lifespan, rosette diameter, and mass remain poorly documented in standardized databases. Conservation of <em>Pyrola minor</em> typically requires careful habitat management to maintain suitable open woodland and heathland conditions, prevent encroachment by taller vegetation, and preserve the intact soil fungal communities upon which this increasingly rare species depends.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States