Research and the Parks: North America's Earliest Beaver Discovered

The National Park Service has several national monuments dedicated to fossil beds, one of them being the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument located near Dayville, Oregon. Last week, there was a fossil find which resulted in the earliest record of beavers in North America, 7-7.3 million years ago. The oldest previous record in North America dated to approximately 5 million years ago. The oldest "true beaver" fossil comes from Germany and dates to 10-12 million years ago.

The teeth found are almost identical to those of living beavers, indicated they have changed very little over the last 7 million years. It's good to know that lands that can provide important insights to the evolutionary history of animals and plants in North America are being preserved.  You can read more about this fossil find, the fossil beds, and how the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management work together to preserve these lands online (click here).