Archaeologist finds ancient beaver teeth in eastern Oregon -- earliest record of the animal in North America

If there was any doubt, a new find cements Oregon's distinction as the Beaver State. An archaeologist discovered two fossil teeth on the boundary of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument near Dayville that represent the earliest record of a beaver in North America. The molar and premolar -- back teeth -- were below an ash layer from an ancient volcanic explosion that scientists say dates to about 7 million to 7.3 million years ago. "This tells us they are older than that eruption," said Joshua Samuels, museum curator and chief of paleontology at the monument. Until now, the earliest beavers in North America dated to around 5 million years ago, he said Monday. The find is significant because it helps pin down the time when beavers crossed the Siberian land bridge from Asia, Samuels said. Scientists believe they migrated to Asia from Germany, where older beaver fossils date to 10 million to 12 million years ago...more