Fissipedia is a former biological suborder comprising the largely land-based families of the order

Order (biology)

In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...

 Carnivora

Carnivora

The diverse order Carnivora |Latin]] carō "flesh", + vorāre "to devour") includes over 260 species of placental mammals. Its members are formally referred to as carnivorans, while the word "carnivore" can refer to any meat-eating animal...

. By and large, members of this suborder are meat-eaters

Carnivore

A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...

, with the giant panda

Giant Panda

The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...

 and red panda

Red Panda

The red panda , is a small arboreal mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. It is the only species of the genus Ailurus. Slightly larger than a domestic cat, it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs...

 (each exclusively herbivorous

Herbivore

Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...

) being the most notable exceptions.

In some former taxonomic classifications, Pinnipedia is treated as an order in its own right rather than as a suborder within the Carnivora. In these classifications, Fissipedia is the sole suborder of Carnivora, and is thus omitted on the grounds of redundancy.

Classification

• Order Carnivora
  • Suborder Fissipedia (now defunct)
    • Family Canidae
      Canidae
      Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...
      
      : dogs and allies; 35 species
      Species
      In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
      
       in 10 genera
      Genus
      In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
      
      
    • Family Procyonidae
      Procyonidae
      Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It includes the raccoons, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, ringtails and cacomistles. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments, and are generally omnivorous.-Characteristics:...
      
      : raccoons and allies; 19 species in 7 genera
    • Family Ursidae: bears; 8 species in 5 genera
    • Family Mustelidae
      Mustelidae
      Mustelidae , commonly referred to as the weasel family, are a family of carnivorous mammals. Mustelids are diverse and the largest family in the order Carnivora, at least partly because in the past it has been a catch-all category for many early or poorly differentiated taxa...
      
       weasels, ferrets, badgers, and otters; 55 species in 24 genera
    • Family Mephitidae skunks; 10 species in 3 genera
    • Family Felidae
      Felidae
      Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
      
      : cats; 37 species in 4 genera
    • Family Viverridae: civets and allies; 35 species in 20 genera
    • Family Herpestidae: mongooses and allies; 35 species in 17 genera
    • Family Hyaenidae: hyenas and aardwolf; 4 species in 4 genera
  • Suborder Pinnipedia (formerly a separate order, now used only informally)
    • Family Odobenidae
      Walrus
      The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
      
       (walruses)
    • Family Otariidae
      Eared Seal
      The eared seals or otariids are marine mammals in the family Otariidae, one of three groupings of Pinnipeds. They comprise 16 species in seven genera commonly known either as sea lions or fur seals, distinct from true seals and the Walrus...
      
       (fur seals and sea lions)
    • Family Phocidae
      Earless seal
      The true seals or earless seals are one of the three main groups of mammals within the seal superfamily, Pinnipedia. All true seals are members of the family Phocidae . They are sometimes called crawling seals to distinguish them from the fur seals and sea lions of the family Otariidae...
      
      (true seals)