Species: Aplodontia rufa
Sewellel
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Aplodontiidae
Genus
Aplodontia
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
Mountain Beaver - castor de montagne
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Aplodontiidae - Aplodontia - to this species. Inasmuch as this name is much less known than the traditional name (mountain beaver) and hinders effective communication, we retain the latter name for now.
Ecology and Life History
Short General Description
A large, brown, terrestrial rodent; looks like a tailless muskrat.
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Feeds on a wide variety of vegetation; consumes ferns, forbs, and deciduous plants in summer; conifer foliage in fall/winter if other plants are unavailable (Banfield 1974). Forages mainly above ground (Epple et al. 1993). Requires free surface water or succulent vegetation on a daily basis. Caches grasses and forbs for winter food. Coprophagous.
Reproduction Comments
Low rate of reproduction. Monoestrous. Gestation lasts 28-30 days. One litter of 2-4 (usually 2-3) altricial young born March-April, sometimes as late as early May in north. Young are weaned in about 6-8 weeks. Females sexually mature in about 2 years; yearling females may ovulate but do not breed (see Carraway and Verts 1993). A few live up to 5-6 years.
Ecology Comments
Usually solitary but may live in loose colonies. Population density estimates generally range from 4 to 8 per hectare, but up to 15-20/ha (see Carraway and Verts 1993). Home range of 10 adult radiotracked for 3-19 months was 0.03-0.20 ha (mean 0.12 ha); moved up to 43 m from nest (see Carraway and Verts 1993). Significant predators include coyote and bobcat.
Length
47
Weight
1400
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-05
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-05
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.NV=S1&US.OR=S4&US.WA=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
FG - 20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles) - FG - Pacific coast of western North America, from southwestern British Columbia south to central California. From near Merritt, British Columbia, south along the Cascade, Olympic, Coast, and Siskiyou ranges to Rio Dell, California; Mt Shasta, California, southeastward through the Sierra Nevada of eastern California and west-central Nevada; Point Arena, Mendocino County, California; and near Pt. Reyes, Marin County, California (Carraway and Verts 1993).
Global Range Code
FG
Global Range Description
20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)