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Dragoo Institute for the Betterment of Skunks and Skunk Reputations |
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Current data (fossil and genetic) suggest that carnivores first appeared about 60 million years ago (Martin 1989; Wayne et al. 1989) and by about 45 million years ago four modern families of carnivores were recognized. These families were the Viverridae (civets), Felidae (cats), Canidae (wolves), and Mustelidae (weasels). Note: modern mustelids cannot be traced back to the early mustelids (Kurtén and Anderson, 1980); there are no uniquely derived characters that unite them. It is possible that these early “mustelids” may have represented the ancestors to the super family Musteloidea. This super family is composed of the four modern families, Mustelidae, Procyonidae, Ailuridae, and Mephitidae (see for example Flynn et al. 2000). The oldest known fossil skunk appeared about 12 million years ago (Wolsan 1999). However, recent genetic data indicate that skunks (Mephitidae) have been around for at least 40 million years (Wayne et al. 1989). We at the Dragoo Institute recognize the following classification (following Wozencraft 2005) of modern carnivores: Order Carnivora Suborder Feliformia Family Eupleridae (Malagasy Civets and Mongooses) Family Felidae (lions, and tigers, and …cats) Family Herpestidae (Mongooses) Family Hyaenidae (Hyenas) Family Nandiniidae (African Palm Civet) Family Viverridae (Civets) Suborder Caniformia Family Ailuridae (red or lesser Panda) Family Canidae (dogs, wolves, jackals) Family Mephitidae (skunks) Family Mustelidae (weasels, otters, badgers) Family Odobenidae (walrus) Family Otariidae (eared seals, sea lions) Family Phocidae (earless seals) Family Procyonidae (raccoons, ringtails, coatis) Family Ursidae (bears, giant panda) |
