A Hotlist on Carnivores

A Hotlist on Carnivores
An Internet Hotlist on Carnivores

created by Ali Hoffman

Introduction

The Phylum Chordata has about 5 distinguishing features; in either the adult or larvae stage the most prominent feature is a hollow nerve cord in the dorsal side of the body or what is known as a 'notochord', which is a flexible rod between the nerve cord and the digestive tract. There are three subphylums of the the phylum Chordata and one of them is the subphylum vertebrata. The most distinguishing features of the subphylum vertebrata is a skull and a backbone containing vertebrae. There are seven classes inside this subphylum, one is Class Mammalia. Some characteristics of mammals are that they are endothermic, they have hair, mammary glands, also skin or epidermis is layered directly over a layer of fat to help maintain a constant body temperature. There are three major groups of mammals, the monotremes, the marsupials, and the most common, eutherians or placentals. There are many orders of the class mammalia, one of which is the Order Carnivora.

Order Carnivora is actually a very broad order. Most of the animals you see are carnivores. Your little dog, cat, if you have a snake, there is a good chance that he/she is a carnivore too. Actually not all Carnivora are carnivorous! Some bears are omnivorous, and at least one, the panda, is strictly vegetarian. The suborder called pinnipeds is translated to 'fin-feet', this suborder is made up of the creatures of the sea. Many fish and porpoises are in fact carnivores. Dolphins, whales, otters, eels and some fish are all carniverous. You can distinguish carnivores by their enlarged fourth upper premolar and first lower molar, which combine to cut and tear meat and flesh. This pair of teeth are called the carnassial pair. The Order Carnivora contains 11 families and 270 different species around the world.

The Internet Resources

Classification

Order Carnivora - Amazing Website!! I would recommend this site to students in either 8th grade or higher. It lists all of the families in the Order of Carnivora. If you click on a particular family it will give you all of the generas and how many generas and species are in that genus or family. It is a very good website. It can give you direct information on any type of carnivore that you desire. Once you choose a specific species it gives you basic information, but also the x-rays or photos of the skulls of that species, probably to differentiate between similar species. Informative. 3 STARS

Everything Information on Carnivores!

Animal Diversity Web - This website contains information on the characteristics for the order of Carnivoraand is suitable for most age groups. It has information on their teeth/mouth layout and the types of teeth. They also have information on their stomachs, which are 'simple' stomachs. It has the sounds that some of the Carnivores actually make and this website has sound bites of the animals that they talk about! It also has pictures, specimens, and classification. 5 STARS!
Introduction to the Carnivora - This site is very good, and it would most likely be used by ages 12 and above. It has links to fossil records, life history and ecology, systematics, and morphology of the order of Carnivora. Very good site, it has a lot of information on the early carnivores, thus it includes evolution. The information on life history is brief but informative. It talks briefly on the two suborders of the order Carnivora but also AMAZING picture of a canivore's jaw. This is included in the morphology section. Good informative website. 5 STARS
order Carnivora - One word: WOW. Very informative and good for all ages. It has a section titled ' Key To The Carnivores Of Texas'. This part is amazing as it has basically the general traits that all Texan carnivores carry. The webstie would most likely be helpful to either teens or adults. Although the information is very technical it is interesting. Who knew that a coyote has a nose pad less than 25 mm in width! Great information. Good website; especially for Texan naturalists. 5 STARS

Amazing photos, and some information

Tree of Life web Project - This website has amazing pictures of three carnivores, the Pine Marten (Martes martes), the Leopard (Panthera pardus), and the Australian sea lion pup (Neophoca cinerea). The site is great, but although there are a few pictures, the information isn't very informative. So only teens to adults would enjoy this site.The only real information on the site is the classification of the Order Carnivora. Great pictures, dull information. 3 STARS
Photovalet- Photovault - AMAZING images. Good for all ages and benificial to middle school students and up. Very good site. Only pictures of canivores are shown, unless you search for something else that is. Good photograghs. You cant really distinguish the characteristics from their jaw,like in most other photos, but you can decipher that they are carnivores by their physical appearance and recognition. It has the most adorable pictures of a ferret! 4 STARS

Specified Information on Carnivores

Mammalogy - Informative site. It looks as though it is an outline of a biology chapter in a college textbook; thus it isnt for the young children. You can click on a link inside of the outline to gain more information on animals such as civets, and carniverous traits such as blubber. When I clicked on the link 'blubber' a picture of a walrus popped up, most likely because the walrus is know for its blubber. Did you know that the word 'canivore' directly translates to ' flesh-eater'! Good site, I give it 3 1/2 STARS!
Animal Bytes - Very cute site, but also informative. Good for the younger generations(elementary school). It gives the general size and characteristics of the Lion. It also includes 'fun facts' about this species. I bet you didnt know that the lions roar can be heard up to FIVE miles away! And lions are inactive for 21 hours of the day, that is 7/8 of the day wasted on nothing. so in other words, lions are pretty LAZY! Shouldn't the animal at the 'top-of-the-food-chain' get to relax? 3 1/2 STARS
Cetaceans (Order Cetacea) (whales, dolphins and porpoises) - If you are looking for a good site on the carnivores of the sea, then you have come to the right place. It lists over TEN carnivores that live in the ocean, and all the information you need to know: their size, diet, description, group size and color. It has pictures of just about every animal listed! Great site for both pictures and information. I recommend it for high school students and older. But I can bet that you didn't know that there are 3 different 'races' of the (Orcinus orca), otherwise known as the Orca or Killer Whale. 5 STARS
California Sea Lion (Zalophus californianus) - This site is strictly for those who want information on the california sea lion. It gives the distribution of the animal, its habitat, natural history, status, and the past and PRESENT threats to its survival. They were once killed and used for their blubber, glue stock and their pelts. Good website for those who want to see the California Sea Lion. Pinpointed information; probably beneficial to middle school students and above. Also includes a picture of two sea lions one beige and one black/grey. 3 1/2 STARS

Endangered Carnivores

Endangered Species>Carnivores - Good website; Suitable for most age groups. It gives three of the endangered carnivores in the world. It gives the The Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) ,the wildcat (Felis silvestris), and the kit fox (Vulpes macrotis). If you click on a particular one, for instance the wildcat, it gives you it usual habitat, why the species is dying out, and what technological advances they are making to help preserve this species. It gives a few (3) pictures on this one. Did you know that the wildcat is dying out due to its similarity and inter-breeding with the common domestic cat. Very good, I give it 4 STARS!
Endangered Mammals - I love this website. Good site for most ages, high school students and above. It starts off with a list of all, or the majority of the endangered mammals. Then as you scroll down it goes in-depth on each animal. Some include a picture, some do not. There are way too many endangered animals, that is all I have to say. After researching the Western Giant Eland, I found that it sort of resembles a moose, more or less, but what angers me is that they still have HUNTING SAFARIS to hunt these endangered animals. 5 STARS!!

Content by Ali Hoffman , bmperbaby@aol.com
http://www.kn.sbc.com/wired/fil/pages/listcarnivoral1.html
Last revised Thu Mar 11 22:05:50 US/Pacific 2004