IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Dollinger, P. | |
| Order Carnivora - General Notes | |
| 1985 Book Chapter | |
Fissiped carnivores are small to rather large mammals (body-weight varying tram 35 grams to 780 kgs), feeding on meat, fish, molluscs, insects, or being omnivorous, and adapted to a variety of biotopes. The head of carnivores is characterized by its massive jaws and its powerful facial musculature. The eyes are forward projecting. The ears are rather small. All species, except a few otters, have a naked nose pad. The incisors are small and slender, the canines long, stout, pointed and, in most species, slightly bent. The upper 4th premolar and the lower 1st molar are often enlarged (carnassial teeth). The length of limbs and of the tail varies enormously. Carnivores walk on their toes or their soles. They have four or five digits on each paw. Pollex and hallux are not opposable and are sometimes reduced or absent. The digits bear curved claws. The penis is retractile, the testicles are located in a scrotum. The number of teats is variable. Except in bears they are located abdominally. The fur consists of guard hairs and underwool. It is very dense and long in specimens living in cold climates. In bears and same mustelids a delayed implantation of the embryo occurs, otherwise the gestation period is rather short. Commonly, females give birth to a single litter of naked and blind young per year. |
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