carnivora

Key anatomical characteristics in Carnivora

Carnassial teeth

Strong jaws and well-developed canine teeth

Mandibular hinge joint restricting lateral jaw movement in highly carnivorous species

Claws that may be retractile or non-retractile

Reduced or absent clavicles, increasing stride length

Generally simple stomachs and reduced ceca

Well-developed scent glands used for communication and defense

Are all members of Carnivora carnivorous?

No, Diets range from strict carnivory to omnivory, insectivory, and herbivory.

What are the two major suborders of Carnivora?

Feliformia and Caniformia

What are carnivorans named for?

Their Carnassial teeth.

What is the difference between the auditory bullae of feliformia and caniformia?

Feliformia's auditory bullae are divided by a bony septum.

Caniformia's auditory bullae are generally undivided.

Feliformia Suborder

cat-like carnivorans.

Pantherinae and Felinae

Subfamily pantherinae

tigers, lions, jaguars, leopards

Subfamily Felinae

Cougar, cheetah, serval, lynx, caracal, ocelot, and domestic cat

Felids are generally solitary except for?

Lions are the only truly social big cats.

Family Felidae characteristics

Most specialized carnivores within Carnivora

Digitigrade

Claws retract, used for attacking prey

Shearing molars and well-developed carnassials

Strong binocular vision

Primarily solitary hunters

Short rostrum

Which Felidae member is the exception to the retractable claw adaptation?

Cheetahs are the only cats in the feline family that cannot fully retract their claws.

Family Hyaenidae characteristics

Strong jaws and specialized premolars for crushing bone

Spotted hyenas are effective predators as well as scavengers

Aardwolf is a specialized termite feeder with reduced cheek teeth

Spotted hyenas form complex, female-dominated social groups

Females exhibit masculinized external genitalia, including a pseudopenis

Anal scent glands are important for territorial marking.

Lack a baculum

Explain spotted hyena societies

Spotted hyenas live in a hierarchical social structure. Spotted hyena clans are centered around females, which are dominant and larger than the males. Aggression benefits high-ranking females since they raise >2.5 times as many cubs to maturity as low-ranking females, because they get most of the food.

What is the relationship between dentition, feeding specialization, and social organization in hyenas?

Because their dentition allows them to utilize every part of a carcass, spotted hyenas can tackle large prey that solitary hunters cannot. However, a large carcass attracts intense competition from lions and rival hyenas. To defend these food resources, spotted hyenas evolved highly complex, matriarchal social clans

Family Herpestidae characteristics

Mongooses, meerkat.

Varied diets; some highly social; sentinel behavior in meerkats

Family Viverridae characteristics

Civets, genets, binturongs

Often arboreal; variable diets; scent glands

Family Eupleridae characteristics

Fossa, Malagasy carnivores

Endemic to Madagascar; descended from a common ancestor

Family Nandiniidae characteristics

African palm civet

Arboreal, nocturnal, omnivorous; genetically distinct

Suborder Caniformia families

Mustelidae

Mephitidae

Procyonidae

Ursidae

Ailuridae

Suborder Caniformia characteristics

Elongated rostrum with well-developed canines and carnassials

Canidae and a few Mustelidae are digitigrade; everyone else is plantigrade

Long limbs adapted for running and pursuing prey

Diets range from carnivory to omnivory and insectivory

Communication through vocalizations, scent marking, and body posture.

Suborder Caniformia social behavior

Parental care frequently involves both parents and sometimes other group members

Young are altricial and require prolonged care.

Wolves and African Wild dogs

Form cooperative hunting packs

Foxes

Generally live alone or in small groups

How do pack hunting, communication, and social organization influence prey capture and offspring survival?

Pack hunting, communication, and social organization work together to boost the survival rate of individuals and their offspring significantly.

Access to larger or faster prey.

Family Mustelidae characteristics

Weasels, Otters, Badgers

Includes the least weasel, mink, otters, badgers, and wolverines

Generally elongated bodies with short legs

Strong carnassials and C-shaped mandibular fossae

Predominantly carnivorous, often solitary

Many exhibit induced ovulation and delayed implantation

Anal scent glands used for communication.

Enhydra Lutris (Sea otters) is an example of

Tool usage. Sea otters use stones as tools to break open shellfish.

Mustela Nigripes (Black-footed ferret) are an example of what?

Keystone species dependence. Strongly dependent on prairie dogs as prey.

Family Mephitidae characteristics

Skunks.

Primarily nocturnal, solitary omnivores

Powerful anal scent glands produce sulfur-containing defensive secretions

Generally poor vision but well-developed smell and hearing

Feed on insects, small vertebrates, and plant materials

May become relatively inactive during winter but are not true hibernators.

Family Procyonidae characteristics

Includes raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, and ringtails

Primarily New World mammals

Generally plantigrade with flexible feeding habits

Omnivorous diets and relatively reduced carnassials

Many species are adapted for climbing

Family Ursidae characteristics

Bears

Large, stocky, plantigrade mammals with non-retractile claws

Most species are omnivorous

Polar bears are predominantly carnivorous

Giant pandas specialize in bamboo consumption

Generally solitary, with strong olfactory abilities

Many undergo extended periods of winter inactivity

Family Ailuridae characteristics

Red Panda

Small, primarily arboreal mammal

Feeds mainly on bamboo but also consumes animal material

Possesses an enlarged wrist bone functioning as a pseudothumb

Classified separately from giant pandas and bears.

Pinnipedia

Pinnipeds are marine mammals specialized for aquatic locomotion and feeding.

Pinnipedia adaptations

Streamlined bodies and limbs modified into flippers

Blubber provides insulation and energy storage

Well-developed vibrissae aid prey detection

Reduced external ears and short tails

Primarily consume fish, squid, crustaceans, and other marine organisms

Phocidae

True seals

Most specialized for aquatic locomotion

Hind flippers cannot rotate forward beneath the body

Primarily use hind flippers and body movements for propulsion

Crabeater seals: Specialized teeth filter krill

Leopard seals: Predators of penguins and other seals

Otariidae

Eared seals

External ear flaps (pinnae) present

Large foreflippers provide propulsion

Hind flippers rotate forward, allowing quadrupedal movement on land

Strong sexual size dimorphism in some species

Sea lions generally feed closer to shore; fur seals often forage farther offshore

Odobenidae

Walrus

Large Arctic pinniped with elongated canine tusks

Tusks used in dominance, defense, and interactions with ice

Thick blubber and highly developed vibrissae

Primarily feeds on benthic invertebrates, especially mollusks

Uses specialized suction feeding to extract soft tissues from shells

These families have carnassial specializations

Felids, Canids, Hyenas

These families show reduced carnassials

Bears and raccoons

Bone-crushing dentition

Hyenas

These families show cooperative hunting

Wolves, African wild dogs, spotted hyenas

Female-dominated social groups

Spotted Hyenas

Defensive scent glands

Skunks

Delayed implantation

Many mustelids

Tool Use

Sea otters

Specialized herbivory

Giant pandas, red pandas

Aquatic locomotion

pinnipeds