North American beaver large, webbed hind feet. The unwebbed front paws are smaller, with claws. The eyes are covered by a nictitating membrane which allows the beaver to see under water. The nostrils and ears are sealed while submerged. A thick layer of fat under its skin insulates the beaver from its coldwater environment. The beaver's fur consists of long, coarse outer hairs and short, fine inner hairs (see Double coat). The fur has a range of colors, but usually is dark brown. Scent glands near the genitals secrete an oily substance known as castoreum, which the beaver uses to waterproof its fur.
Castor and Pollux the appearance of James son of Zebedee and his brother John who appear in the narrative by Mark the Evangelist. MacDonald cites the origin of this identification to 1913 when J. Rendel Harris published his work Boanerges, a Greek version probably of an Aramaic name meaning "Sons of Thunder", thunder being associated with Zeus, father of Pollux, in what MacDonald calls a form of early Christian Dioscurism. More directly, the Acts of the Apostles mentions the Dioskouroi in a neutral context, as the figurehead of an Alexandrian ship boarded by Paul in Malta (Acts 28:11). Castor and Pollux Castor and