The beaver is a mammalian animal that belongs to the order of rodents: those species that have very sharp incisor teeth that they use to gnaw wood, eat and defend themselves. Beavers are characterized by their flattened tail that is covered in scales; its short legs that have five-toed feet; and her fine hair.
These animals live in regions of Europe, America and Asia, always in the northern hemisphere. However, there are communities that have settled in southern Argentina, where they were introduced by man.
Beavers are noted for their ability to build homes on lakes, streams, and rivers. For this they develop dams that block the water flow and create so-called beavers with wood that they obtain from the trees thanks to their incisors. Dams built by beavers contribute to flood control and promote wetland development.
It is possible to differentiate between three species of beaver. The American beaver is the largest rodent in the Northern Hemisphere. The European beaver is smaller than the American one and is protected to prevent its disappearance. The extinction, in fact, is what killed the third of the known species of beaver, Kellogg.
The Kellogg’s beaver, whose scientific name was Castor californicus, had its habitat in the western United States from the late Miocene to the early Pleistocene, geological periods spanning a strip of more than twenty million years and ending approximately two million years ago.. This species had many similarities with the American beaver, although its size was larger. Like the other members of its genus, it was semi-aquatic. Its fossils were found in the Mexican state of Sonora and in various parts of North America, such as the states of Idaho, Washington, California and Nebraska.
The decrease in beaver populations is linked to the exploitation that humans carry out of their skins, highly valued decades ago. He also sells castoreum, a substance secreted beavers to care for your hair. This liquid is usually used in the manufacture of perfumes and as an additive to certain foods.
As a proper noun, we find this word in various concepts. For example, it is a North American village found in the state of Louisiana, more precisely in the parish of Bienville. Until 2010, a consensus found that its population was only 258 residents. Since it is located in the southeast of the country, its climate is favorable and very pleasant for those who want to avoid extreme temperatures.
In 1969, on the other hand, a probe rocket baptized with the name Castor A was manufactured in Argentina, a two-stage vehicle that has four single-stage rockets, the Canopus II model. Its manufacture was commissioned by the Indian Institute of Space Engineering (whose original name in English is Indian Institute of Aircraft Engineering). Broadly speaking, we can say that its length was 7 meters, its diameter of 28 centimeters, its total mass of 300 kilograms and its apogee of 400 kilometers.
With a tilde in the a, Castor is a star belonging to the constellation of Gemini. In particular, it is known for being the second brightest of this group, preceded by Pollux, together with which the duo of twins is formed that gives rise to the name of the constellation, since gemini is the Latin term to say “the Twins”. Regarding the name of the star itself, they chose it because it was the one that designated one of the two twins in Greek mythology called Dioscuri, the other of whom was, precisely, Pollux.