How Are Carnivores Classified?

All living things are classified to show how they related to each other. The system of classification was developed in the 19th and 20th centuries and now modifications are made as we continue to find out more about different species and their relationships.

Zoologists currently divide carnivorous animals into two groups, or sub-orders. First there are the land-dwelling fissipedes that have independent toes and can walk easily on land. Then there are the aquatic pinnipedes, seals and sea lions, for example, whose limbs have evolved to become flippers for swimming in water.

The fissipedes are split into three superfamilies: the Artctoidae, the Herpestidae and the Cynofedidae. The Arctoidae is made up of four families, the Mustelidae (weasels), the Procyonidae (racoons), the Ailuridae (pandas) and the Ursidae (bears). The Herpestidae has three families, the Viverridae (civets and mongoose), the Protelidae (wolves) and the Hyaenidae (hyenas). The last superfamily, the Cynofelidae has just two families, the Canidae (dogs) and the Felidae (cats).