Carnivora (/kɑːrˈnɪvərə/ kar-NIH-vər-ə) is an order of placental mammals specialized primarily in eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans.

The caniforms include the Caninae, Procyonidae, bears, mustelids, skunks and pinnipeds that occur worldwide with immense diversity in their morphology, diet, and behavior.

[23] The oldest known carnivoran line mammals (Carnivoramorpha) appeared in North America 6 million years after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event.

However, following the extinction of mesonychians and the oxyaenid creodonts at the end of the Eocene, carnivorans quickly moved into this niche, with forms like the nimravids being the dominant large-bodied ambush predators during the Oligocene alongside the hyaenodont creodonts (which similarly produced larger, more open-country forms at the start of the Oligocene).

Ferae includes the closest extant relative of carnivorans, the pangolins, as well as several extinct groups of mostly Paleogene carnivorous placentals such as the creodonts, the arctocyonians, and mesonychians.

[31] In addition, recent phylogenetic analysis suggests that creodonts are more closely related to pangolins while mesonychians might be the sister group to carnivorans and their stem-relatives.

[35] From there carnivorans have split into two clades based on the composition of the bony structures that surround the middle ear of the skull, the cat-like feliforms and the dog-like caniforms.

Research into Carnivora phylogeny since 1945 has found Fisspedia to be paraphyletic in respect to Pinnipedia,[39] with pinnipeds being either more closely related to bears or to weasels.

[40][41][42][43][44] The small carnivoran families Viverridae,[45] Procyonidae, and Mustelidae have been found to be polyphyletic: Below is a table chart of the extant carnivoran families and number of extant species recognized by various authors of the first (2009[56]) and fourth (2014[57]) volumes of the Handbook of the Mammals of the World: The canine teeth are usually large, conical, thick and stress resistant.

Often a sagittal crest is present, sometimes more evident in sexually dimorphic species such as sea lions and fur seals, though it has also been greatly reduced in some small carnivorans.

The feet can either be digitigrade as seen in cats, hyenas and dogs or plantigrade as seen in bears, skunks, raccoons, weasels, civets and mongooses.

Compared to dogs and bears, cats have longer and stronger forelimbs armed with retractable claws to hold on to prey.

The pelage coloration differs between species, often including black, white, orange, yellow, red, and many shades of grey and brown.

There seems to be a correlation between habitat and color pattern; for example spotted or banded species tend to be found in heavily forested environments.

The arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus) and the stoat (Mustela erminea) have fur that changes from white and dense in the winter to brown and sparse in the summer.

Many civilizations have incorporated a species of carnivoran into their culture: a prominent example is the lion, viewed as a symbol of power and royalty in many societies.