Caniforms

Caniformia is a suborder of the order Carnivora that includes dog-like carnivorans and their aquatic relatives. Members of this clade occupy a wide range of habitats, from forests and mountains to oceans, and they exhibit diverse lifestyles, from solitary hunters to social, omnivorous species. In contrast to the cat-like feliforms, caniforms generally have longer, less specialized skulls and a tendency toward more generalized dentition, though there is substantial variation among lineages.

Extant caniforms are distributed among several families. Canidae encompasses dogs, wolves, foxes, and jackals. Ursidae includes bears. Procyonidae covers raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, and related taxa. Mustelidae is a large, diverse family that includes weasels, otters, badgers, and wolverines. Mephitidae contains skunks. Ailuridae is represented by the red panda, the sole living member of the family. In addition, caniforms include the pinniped groups Otariidae (eared seals and sea lions), Phocidae (true seals), and Odobenidae (walrus), which are marine mammals adapted to life in the sea.

Evolutionarily, Caniformia diverged from Feliformia in the early Cenozoic, with the group giving rise to a broad array of terrestrial and aquatic lineages. Pinnipeds emerged as a marine-adapted clade within Caniformia during the Cenozoic, illustrating convergent evolution toward aquatic foraging. Today, caniforms range from small, dexterous mustelids to large apex predators like polar bears, and they include domesticated species such as the dog, which originate from the Canidae lineage.