Carnivora (/kɑːrˈnɪvərə/kar-NIV-ər-ə) 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 sixth largest order of mammals,[22] 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.
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.
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^Kalandadze, N. N. and S. A. Rautian (1992.) "Systema mlekopitayushchikh i istorygeskaya zoogeographei [The system of mammals and historical zoogeography]." Sbornik Trudov Zoologicheskogo Muzeya Moskovskogo Goschdarstvennoro Universiteta 29:44–152.
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