Castoridae & the evolution of an ecosystem engineer

cover art credit: C. Grimes

References:

Davies, N.S., J.C. Gosse, A. Rouillard, N. Rybczynski, J. Meng, A.V. Reyes and J. Kiguktak. 2022. Wood Jams or beaver dams? Pliocene life sediment and landscape interactions in the Canadian High Arctic. Palaios, 37: 1-18. DOI: 10.2110/palo.2021.065

Fish, F.E., N. Rybczynski, G.V. Lauder, C.M. Duff. 2021. The Role of the Tail or Lack Thereof in the Evolution of Tetrapod Aquatic Propulsion. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 61(2): 398–413. DOI: 10.1093/icb/icab021.

Korth, W.W. & N. Rybczynski. 2003. A new unusual castorid (Rodentia) from the earliest Miocene of Nebraska. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 23(3): 667–675. DOI: 10.1671/2371.

Plint, T., F.J. Longstaffe, F.J., A. Ballantyne, A. Telka, N. Rybczynski. 2020. Evolution of woodcutting behaviour in Early Pliocene beaver driven by consumption of woody plants. Scientific Reports. 10, 13111. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70164-1

Rybczynski N., E.M. Ross, J.X. Samuels, & W.W. Korth. 2010. Re-evaluation of Sinocastor (Rodentia: Castoridae) with implications on the origin of modern beavers. PLoS ONE. 5(11): e13990. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013990

Rybczynski, N. 2008. Woodcutting behavior in beavers (Castoridae, Rodentia): estimating ecological performance in a modern and a fossil taxon. Palaeobiology 34(3): 389-402. DOI: 10.1666/06085.1

Rybczynski, N. 2007. Castorid phylogenetics: Implications for the evolution of swimming and tree exploitation in beavers. Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 14: 1-35. DOI: 10.1007/s10914-006-9017-3.