Carnivores have four or five clawed digits on each limb. Some carnivores, including canids and felids, are digitigrade, walking only on their toes. Others, such as ursids, are plantigrade, walking on their soles with the heels touching the ground. The brain has well-developed cerebral hemispheres, and the skull is heavy, with strong facial musculature. The stomach is simple.
Males have a baculum.
The teeth are rooted. The first incisor is the smallest, and the third is the largest, the difference in size being most marked in the upper jaw. The canine teeth are strong, recurved, pointed, elongate, and round to oval in section. The premolars are usually adapted for cutting, and the molars usually have four or more sharp, pointed cusps. The last upper premolar and the first lower molar, called the carnassials, often work together as a specialized shearing mechanism.