Biology Encyclopedia	Carnivora Bowdich, 1821 “flesh-eaters”
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Common Names

Confusion concerning the common name for this group seems inevitable.  Herein, I will make the distinction between carnivores, organisms that consume the flesh of animals; and carnivorans, members of the taxonomic group Carnivora.  Following that terminology, it should be said that most carnivorans are carnivores or primarily carnivorous.  The primarily herbivorous Giant Panda, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, is certainly an exception to the rule.  It should also be noted that there are many species of carnivores which do not belong to the order Carnivora and thus are not carnivorans.  Dinosaurs, crocodiles, and snakes are a few examples which come to mind.

Latin Synonyms

Carnivoramorpha

Linnaean Rank

Order

Ancestral Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Explanation of phylogenetic trees

Lineage

Terrabiota, Cytota, Neomura, Eukaryota, Unikonta, Opisthokonta, Animalia, Metazoa, Eumetazoa, Bilateria, Deuterostomia, Cyrtotreta, Chordata, Notochordata, Vertebrata, Gnathostomata,, Teleostomi, Euteleostomi, Sarcopterygii, Tetrapodomorpha, Tetrapoda, Reptilomorpha, Cotylosauria, Amniota, Synapsida, Therapsida, Eutherapsida, Neotherapsida, Theriodontia, Cynodontia, Epicynodontia, Eucynodontia, Probainognathia, Mammaliaformes, Mammalia, Cladotheria, Zatheria, Theria, Eutheria, Placentalia, Boreoeutheria, Laurasiatheria, Ferungulata, Ferae

Descendant Phylogeny and Taxonomy

Explanation of phylogenetic trees

Morphology

Carnivores are united by the possession of a pair of shearing carnassial teeth formed by the upper fourth premolar and lower first molar, called the carnassial teeth.

Distribution

Ecology

Carnivorans are primarily terrestrial, but a large portion of species are aquatic or semi-aquatic.  Carnivorans began as flesh-eaters and most extant species today are primarily carnivorous.  Indeed, the order Carnivora contains within it the most fearsome predatorial species on land today.  Many species, such as cats (Felidae), all members of Pinnipedia, and Weasels (Mustela) are obligate carnivores, eating little or no vegetation.  Any given species of Carnivora present in an ecosystem will often occupy the highest trophic level of the food chain. 

Ethology

Evolution

The first fossils of the order Carnivora, as it is treated here, are from North America and are dated to the early Paleocene, about 65 mya.  These fossils belong to the group Viverravidae, and possess a true pair of carnassial teeth, but the connection between this family and modern carnivorans is poorly understood.  Clues from their dentition (loss of the last, or third, molars) are often cited to link the Viverravids with Feliformia (including cats and hyenas) and they are likely to be ancestral to this group.  A current lack of transitional fossils from 55 to 35 mya, however, weakens this hypothesis and some argue that Viverravidae were an early specialized carnivoran group unrelated to any living families (Wesley-Hunt, 2005).

Development

Ethnobiology

Many species of carnivorans have been utilized as human pets or companions, two of which are quite notable for being so: the dog and the cat.  Dogs have served numerous functions for humanity for several thousand years such as hunting, guarding, herding, and drafting.  In modern times, they are also used as guides for the vision-impaired, and their acute sense of smell is used as a detection system for illegal narcotics, and chemical weapons by police and military worldwide.  The domestication of cats is much more recent in human history and is associated with humanity's shift to an agricultural lifestyle and large stockpiling of grains and other food.  As food storage attracted rats, mice and other vermin; cats became utilized as pest control.  The fur coats of many (if not all) species of carnivorans have historically been utilized by humans for warmth.  Large carnivorans are often equipped with sharp claws and teeth, and great strength and speed for their size and thus have often become very dangerous or lethal in their interractions with humans. 

Population

Notes and Comments

References

Literature

Wang, Xiaoming and Richard H. Tedford.  Illustrations by Mauricio Antón.  Dogs their fossil relatives and evolutionary history.  2008.  Columbia Universtiy Press.

Wesley-Hunt, G.D., and John J. Flynn. 2005.  Phylogeny of the Carnivora: Basal relationships among the carnivoramorphans and assessment of the position of "Miacoidea" relative  to Carnivora.  Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 3:1-28.

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