Felines of the World

Discoveries in Taxonomic Classification and History

Giovanni G. Bellani

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780128172773
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Environmental Conservation & Protection
• Index: Biological Sciences

Felines of the World: Discoveries in Taxonomic Classification and History provides the most recent taxonomic, paleontological, phylogenetic and DNA advances of wild felid and domestic cat species following guidelines dictated by the IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group. It highlights the importance of felines and their role as predators in maintaining the ecological biome balance in which they have evolved. The book delves into the anatomical, evolutionary and zoogeographic features of fossil and current felid species. Each species is described in detail, detailing its classification, habitat and biological habits. This book also presents the most updated threat and conservation status of each species.

This book is an ideal resource for zoologists and paleontologists, primarily those interested in the evolution and features of extinct and extant felines.

• Details the lineage, features and habits of over 40 felid species
• Covers all species within the Felidae family, including lions, lynxes, pumas and domestic cats
• Features detailed and colorful illustrations, diagrams and species location maps
• Informs readers on endangered species, current threats and conservation efforts

Chapter 1

Order of carnivores (Carnivora)

Abstract

Many animals have a diet based on meat (animal protein): from sharks to crocodiles, and from snakes to birds of prey; the mammal order also includes bats (Chiroptera) and insectivores (Insectivora), monkeys (chimpanzees and baboons), and prosimians.

However, this chapter deals with the carnivores (order Carnivora), that from a taxonomic point of view belongs to a precise order of mammals and that share a common phylogenetic history together with particular anatomical features.

They belong to the order of carnivores, which is divided into 16 families, for example, dogs and wolves (family Canidae), cats and big cats (Felidae), bears (Ursidae), raccoons (Procyonidae), weasels (Mustelidae), genets (Viverridae), sea lions, walruses, seals, and sea elephants (superfamily Pinnipedia), etc.

All Carnivora have specialized teeth for their meat-based diet and tusk-shaped canines with which they kill their prey. The bones of their front legs have paw bones (carpal bones) called scaphoid and lunar (semilunar), which are fused together in a single bone called the scapholunar.

Keywords

Order Carnivora; meat diet; carnassial teeth; carpal bones; scaphoid; lunar; scapholunar; evolution; Miacidae

Chapter Outline

• Introduction 1
• The carnivorous animals 1
• Man and carnivores 2
• Chapter 1.1 Anatomical features common to order Carnivora 3
• Chapter 1.2 Features of Caniformia and Feliformia 4
• Carnivora denture or dentition 6
• Chapter 1.3 Evolution, phylogeny, and classification 7

African lion (Panthera leo leo), order Carnivora, certainly the best known representative of this group of animals, as all members of the family Felidae, is a skilled predator and has a “hypercarnivorous” diet.

Introduction

The carnivorous animals

Many animals can be defined as “carnivores” from the point of view of their diet: for example, sharks, among the fish, crocodiles and snakes, of current reptiles as well as many dinosaurs from the past; and eagles, hawks, and owls among the birds.

Many mammals are carnivores, examples include the marsupial carnivores such as the Dasiuridae family or quoll (Dasyurus), the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), the famous Tasmanian wolf or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) (relatively recently extinct), and the marsupial lion (Thylacoleo) of the Australian Pleistocene. Other orders of mammals present with totally or mostly carnivorous diets including bats, other insectivores, and some monkeys (chimpanzees, baboons) and prosimians. However, those we will deal with are the carnivores (order Carnivora) that, from a taxonomic point of view, belong to the precise order of mammals and share a common phylogenetic history together with particular anatomical features.

The order of Carnivora includes dogs and wolves, cats and “big cats,” bears, raccoons, weasels, genets, seals, etc.

(A) Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx linx) order Carnivora, family Felidae. (B) Siberian weasel (Mustela sibirica) order Carnivora, family Mustelidae. (C) Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) order Carnivora, family Canidae. This South American species has an omnivorous diet and is particularly greedy for a certain type of wild tomato (Solanum lycocarpum).

Man and carnivores

Within the order of Carnivora there are two species of mammals which are the most popular of human pets: the cat and the dog. These are bred everywhere that man has settled; with cats being the most common pet with about 500 million specimens around the world. Dogs, often called “man’s best friend,” is also used as a working animal (for hunting, towing sleds, guarding flocks, etc.) or as guide dogs for the blind, sniffer dogs (police dogs), and for carrying out rescues after avalanches and storms.

Their relatives and wild ancestors, namely wolves and the big wild cats, are admired as great hunters, but the relationship with the Carnivora also creates a series of conflicts and a complicated outlook, with opinions that can be very different or even conflicting, in different cultures and in various historical periods. This simple admiration for their strength and beauty has occasionally escalated to a veneration or viewing them as sacred as in many ancient cultural and religious traditions. However, carnivores have also always been considered as rivals and dangerous competitors, especially when man hunted prey for food; they were and can still be a serious danger to farmers and their livestock, and there is also a conflict over space due to natural and wild environments giving way to agriculture.

The invention of hunting as a “sport” as a “test of courage” or to obtain their precious furs, or for other multiple reasons whether selfish, utilitarian, or merely as a convenient petty economy, has reduced many species of carnivores to the point of extinction, especially the larger ones (tiger, lion, bears, wolves, etc.) which need large spaces in which to live together with their prey, with which they play a primary role as predators and/or superpredators, which is an indispensable role in the maintenance of the ecological balance of the natural environment. Many species have been eradicated from most of their natural habitats and relegated to live in restricted protected areas, which are not always sufficient to safeguard their future.

(A) Red tabby (long haired) and (B) Caucasian shepherd dog (a female with four puppies). These are breeds domesticated and bred by man, but which derive from wild carnivores.

Chapter 1.1 Anatomical features common to order Car...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1. Order of carnivores (Carnivora)
• Chapter 2. Family Felidae
• Chapter 3. Zoogeography of felids
• Part 1: Gallery of All Species of Felidae
• Bibliography
• Index