Carnivora

The order Carnivora is a animal group of mammals. The group is divided into the "cat-like" Feliformia and the "dog-like" Caniformia. 

Animals of the order Carnivora are carnivores, a term which applies to all carnivore flesh-eaters. If one needs to refer to members of the order, then carnivorans is used. Many species of Carnivora are actually omnivores, and a few of them, like the giant panda, eat mostly plants.

The order includes aquatic relatives in the superfamily Pinnipedia, the walruses and seals.

 Teeth 
Mammalian carnivores have a particular arrangement of their back teeth. It is to slice the meat of their prey. As the photo shows, two of the back teeth work as meat slicers. If they change their way of life (various aquatic mammals) this feature gets changed or even lost (selected against).

 Taxonomy 
 Order Carnivora
 Suborder Feliformia ("cat-like")
 Family Felidae: cats
 Family Viverridae
 Family Hyaenidae: hyenas
 Family Eupleridae
 Family Herpestidae: mongooses
 Suborder Caniformia ("dog-like")
 Family Canidae: dogs, foxes, wolves, jackals, and coyotes
 Family Ursidae: bears
 Family Ailuridae: red pandas
 Family Mephitidae: skunks
 Family Mustelidae: martins, badgers, and minks
 Family Procyonidae: racoons
 Superfamily Pinnipedia : walruses, and seals
 Family Odobenidae
 Family Otariidae
 Family Phocidae

 Carnivoramorpha 
The Carnivores are linked with the Miacids and Viverravids in an unranked clade, the Carnivoramorpha:
†Miacoidea
†Viverravidae
†Miacidae (Miacis)
Carnivora
Caniformia
Feliformia

The carnivores known as †Creodonts have some relation to these groups, but are placed outside the Carnivoramorpha. The †Mesonychids are another extinct group of early carnivores, which are also not in the Carnivoramorpha.

 References