Caniformia is a suborder within the order Carnivora consisting of "dog-like" carnivorans. They include dogs, bears, wolves, foxes, raccoons, badgers, seals and mustelids.[1] The Pinnipedia (seals, walruses and sea lions) are also assigned to this group. The center of diversification for Caniformia is North America and northern Eurasia. Caniformia stands in contrast to the other suborder of Carnivora, Feliformia ("cat-like" carnivorans), the center of diversification of which was in Africa and southern Asia.
Description[]
Most members of this group have non-retractile claws (the fisher, marten, red panda, and ringtail have retractile or semi-retractile claws) and tend to be plantigrade (with the exception of the Canidae). Other traits that separate Caniformia from Feliformia is that caniforms have longer jaws and have more teeth, with less specialized carnassial teeth. They also tend more towards omnivory and opportunistic feeding, while the feliforms, other than the viverrids, are more specialized for eating meat. Caniforms have single-chambered or partially divided auditory bullae, composed of a single bone, while in feliforms, the auditory bullae are double-chambered, composed of two bones joined by a septum. In the Canoidea, the bulbourethral glands and vesicula seminalis are always absent. Relative to body size, the baculum is usually longer in the Canoidea than in the Feloidea.
Evolution[]
Caniforms first appeared as tree-climbing, superficially marten-like carnivores in the Eocene around 42 million years ago. Miacis cognitus was probably an early caniform. Like many other early carnivorans, it was well suited for tree climbing with needle-sharp claws, and had limbs and joints that resemble those of modern carnivorans. M. cognitus was probably a very agile forest dweller that preyed on smaller animals, such as small mammals, reptiles, and birds.