Carnivoramorpha


Carnivoramorpha are a clade of mammals that includes the modern order Carnivora.

Classification and phylogeny

Traditional classification

As phylogenetic studies indicate that the superfamily Miacoidea is paraphyletic, with miacids being more closely related to carnivorans than to viverravids, Flynn, Finarelli & Spaulding named a new clade within Carnivoramorpha, Carnivoraformes, containing carnivorans and miacids but not viverravids; the authors defined Carnivoraformes as the clade containing Carnivora and all taxa that are more closely related to Carnivora than to Viverravus gracilis.
The phylogenetic relationships of Carnivoramorpha are shown in the following cladogram: