Bear
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Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout most of the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, and Eurasia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.
Bear
Plithocyon armagnacensis skull, a member of the extinct subfamily Hemicyoninae from the Miocene
Life restoration of Arctotherium bonariense
Fossil of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus), a relative of the brown bear and polar bear from the Pleistocene epoch in Europe
Carnivora
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Carnivora is an order of placental mammals that have specialized in primarily eating flesh, whose members are formally referred to as carnivorans. The order Carnivora is the fifth largest order of mammals, comprising at least 279 species.
Carnivora
Life reconstruction of Tapocyon robustus, a species of miacid
Skull of a fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). Note the large and conical canine and carnassial teeth common in feliforms.
A black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) trying to predate on a brown fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus) pup. These two species illustrate the diversity in bodyplan seen among carnivorans, especially between pinnipeds and their terrestrial relatives.