 | Quick Facts |  |
|  | Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
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Order Carnivora
Civet Family (1)
The Bear Family (5)
The Cat Family (7)
The Dog Family (4)
The Hyena Family (1)
The Mongoose Family (1)
The Raccoon Family (1)
The Weasel Family (4)
The 231 species of carnivore include the long and the short, the fat and the thin, the powerful and the fragile, the fast and the slow, and the sociable and the solitary. There are few outward characteristics that they share. Carnivores are known as meat-eaters, but even that characteristic is not certain. Many carnivores are omnivorous (eat both meat and plants), and some are even herbivores. However, there is one feature that all carnivores share. All carnivores are descended from animals that have specially adapted teeth for shearing through flesh.
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