Real Mountain Beaver Baculum

This real mountain beaver specimen offers a rare opportunity to examine this anatomical structure in a primitive rodent species. The baculum's modest dimensions and morphology reflect the evolutionary history of Aplodontia rufa, providing valuable comparative anatomical insights for collectors, educators, and researchers studying mammalian skeletal variation and reproductive anatomy across species.

Mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa), not a true beaver, are heavy-bodied rodents with short limbs. They are considered the most primitive living rodent. The skull reflects these primitive traits in that it is flattened overall and the auditory bullae, or ear bones, are flask-shaped. This unusual skull allows a view into the distant past of rodents as well as mammals in general.

• Baculum Length 2.9 cm (1.1 in)
• Baculum Width 0.8 cm (0.3 in)
• Baculum Height 0.4 cm (0.2 in)