Carnivora
Order of mammals / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carnivora /kɑːrˈnɪvərə/ is an order of placental mammals that have specialized in primarily eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the fifth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold polar regions of Earth to the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert and the open seas. These mammals have a large array of diverse body plans with a wide diversity of shapes and sizes.
Carnivorans | |
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Various carnivorans, with feliforms to the left, and caniforms to the right | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Clade: | Carnivoramorpha |
Clade: | Carnivoraformes |
Order: | Carnivora Bowdich, 1821[2] |
Suborders | |
The extant distribution and density of Carnivora species. | |
Synonyms | |
list of synonyms:
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Carnivora are divided into two suborders, the Feliformia, containing the true felids and several "cat-like" animals; and the Caniformia, containing the true canids and many "dog-like" animals. The feliforms include the Felidae, Viverridae, hyena, and mongoose families, the majority of which live only in the Old World; cats are the only exception, occurring in the old world and the new world, entering the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge. The caniforms include the Caninae, Procyonidae, bears, mustelids, skunks and pinnipeds that occur worldwide with immense diversity in their morphology, diet and behavior.