Mountain Beaver Skull Replica

$91.00

The skull of the Mountain Beaver or Aplodontia rufa is protrogomorphous; it does not have specialized attachments for the masseter muscles as seen in other rodents. It is flattened and lacks a postorbital process.

Description

Mountain Beaver Skull Replica measures 2.8 inches. Mountain Beaver Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Scientific name Aplodontia rufa. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

Mountain beaver or Aplodontia rufa are gray or brown, but their fur can range from slightly more reddish to more blackish depending on subspecies, with a light patch under each ear. The animals have distinctively short tails.

Adults weigh about 18–32 oz. Total length is about 12–20 in., with a tail length of 0.39–1.57 in. Their superficial similarity with true beavers reflects only their relatively large size (for rodents), strong odor, preference for living in extremely watery moist habitats, and propensity to consume tree seedlings as food.

The Mountain Beaver or Aplodontia rufa do not fell adult trees (though such trees may be killed by “girdling”), build dams, live in lodges, or communicate by slapping their tails. The Aplodontia rufa are predominantly nocturnal in above ground activities.

They are known to climb trees a few meters to acquire food in the form of branches and leaves, but otherwise their diet consists mostly of ferns, especially species which are toxic to other animals.

The skull is protrogomorphous; it has no specialized attachments for the masseter muscles as seen in other rodents. It is flattened and lacks a postorbital process.

The Mountain Beaver or Aplodontia rufa have an unusual projection on each molar and premolar tooth, which is unique among mammals and allows for easy identification of teeth. This projection points toward the cheek on the upper tooth row, but points toward the tongue on the lower.

The cheek teeth lack the complex folds of other rodents and instead consist of single basins. They are hypsodont and ever-growing. Two upper and one lower premolars are present, along with all the molars.

Mountain Beaver or Aplodontia rufa are found in the Cascade Mountains of British Columbia and southward to include the rest of the Cascade Range in the United States, the Olympic Mountains and Coast Ranges of Washington and Oregon.

Mountain Beaver Facts:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Aplodontiidae
Genus: Aplodontia
Species: A. rufa
Binomial name: Aplodontia rufa
Conservation status: Least concern – A least concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation.

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Additional information

Weight 2 lbs
Dimensions 2.8 in
International Beaver Day - April 7th

International Beaver Day aims to celebrated on April 7th to raise awareness of the plight of the rodent. The beaver may be the national animal of Canada but the furry dam-building rodent can be found across the North American continent and Eurasia as two distinct species, but the population has been on the decline for several decades now. So now is the time to get ready and enjoy the observance of this fun day!