Characteristics of the carnivores:
- meat-eaters
- carnassial teeth: the last upper preolar and the first lower molar fit together
- fusion of bones in foot that give a firm basis for flexion and climbing
- they have a penis (except Hyanidae) that contains an elongate bony structure called the baculum, to prolong the copulation.
CLASSIFICATION
CATS:
- round head
- digitigrade feet and retractile claws (except cheetah)
- large eyes with binocular and some colour vision; eyes adapted to darkness rapidly.
- large ears, sense of hearing acute.
- sense of smell less developed than canids.
- facial whiskers: long, stiff, sensitive, improve night hunting.
- tongue coated with sharped-pointed papillae that lacerate food and aid in function of grooming.
DOGS:
- long legs
- digitigrade with 5 toes on front foot and 4 on hind foot, Non-retractile claws.
- long muzzle, well-developed jaw
- bushy tail
- flattered molar in front (indicate not purely carnivorous)
- copulation of long duration due to the presence of erectile folds on penis that swollen prevent retraction by male.
HYENAS:
- Spotted hyena, Brown hyena and the Aardwolf
- large ears
- thick-set muzzles
- powerful jaws
- non-retractils claws
- anal pouch that lies between the rectum and the base of the tail, can be turned inside out . In Brown hyena, the pouch is large and discharges 2 secretion from different glands lining the pouch
- they hunt but are mainly scavengers
- they have an unusual digestive system so that they can consume indegestible material (bone, horn, hoove, ligaments, chair) often regurgitated.
- the Spotted hyena has a large head with large premolar used for bone-crushing, slicing and shearing meat and skin. Thr Brown hyena has smaller premolars as their diet includes insects, eggs, fruits.
- there is a misconception of the Spotted hyena being hermaphrodite based on genitals of both sexes being masculine until puberty, when the female's urogenitals open and mammae enlarged.
- Well-developed forequarters, a back-line that slopes and a mane.
- Aardwolf is shy and nocturnal, seldom seen , feeds on termites and has sticky salive.
MONGOOSES AND SURICATES / CIVETS AND GENETS
- Viverrids: small Spotted genet, South African large-spotted genet, Common large spotted genet, Angolean genet, African civet.
- Mepestids: Suricates and 12 species of Mongoose.
- they are not cats because they have short legs, not the same length of muzzle, not rounded head.
- well-developed anal glands
- feet vary from digitigrade to near-plantigrade
- omnivores, small canine teeth
- diet: small mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, fruits, eggs.
- excellent vision and hearing due to a well-developed inner ear.
BADGERS AND RELATIVES
- Mustelids: Honey badger, Striped weasel, Striped polecat, Cape clawless otter, Spotted rock otter
- divided into 3 sub-families: long body, short legs, anal glands
- variety of teeth structure, foot structure (digitigrade or plantigrade), 4 or 5 toes, claws retractile or not
- some are fierce hunters: honey badger also feeds on honey and bee larvae, otters on crabs and fich
- anal glands, powerful-smelling liquid (musk) as a mean of defence when frightened or defecate.
- sexes live separately, copulation is prolonged and opften repeated. The females only ovulate through a vigorous copulation.
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