Carnivora/kɑːrˈnɪvərə/ 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 fifth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species on every major landmass and in a variety of habitats, ranging from the cold Polar regions of Earth the hyper-arid region of the Sahara Desert to the open seas. They have a very large array of different 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 in the Old World; cats are the only exception, occurring in the old world and the new world via crossing into the Americas.
The caniforms include the Caninae, Procyonidae, bears, mustelids, skunks and pinnipeds that occur worldwide with immense diversity in their morphology, diet and behavior.
^Bowditch, T. E. 1821. An analysis of the natural classifications of Mammalia for the use of students and travelers J. Smith Paris. 115. (refer pages 24, 33)
^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.
^Kenneth E. Kinman (1994.) "The Kinman System: Toward a Stable Cladisto-Eclectic Classification of Organisms: Living and Extinct, 48 Phyla, 269 Classes, 1,719 Orders", Hays, Kan. (P. O. Box 1377, Hays 67601), 88 pages
^O. S. Vyalov (1966.) "Sledy Zhiznedeyatel'nosti Organizmov i ikh Paleontologicheskoye Znacheniye [Traces of Vital Activity of Organisms and their Paleontological Significance]" Naukova Dumka, Kyiv, 1-219