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ORDER CARNIVORA

CARNIVORES

This group includes some of the most recognizable and charismatic wild mammals -- coyotes, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, weasels, skunks, raccoons, and other "fur-bearing" mammals.  Historically, carnivores were divided into two suborders: Fissipedia (terrestrial forms) and Pinnipedia (marine forms).  More recently, this arrangement has been abandoned in favor of a classification that more accurately reflects the phylogenetic relationship among carnivore families.  Under the more recent scheme, two suborders are recognized that impact the classification of Texas carnivores: Caniformia (canids, mustelids, mephitids, procyonids, and ursids) and Feliformia (felids).  Although we follow the usage of Caniformia and Feliformia, the terms Fissipedia and Pinnipedia remain in the older literature and field guides. 

Carnivores are nearly worldwide in distribution and occur, in the wild, on all continents.  They are absent, except for introduced and domesticated species, from all oceanic islands.  Introduction of nonnative carnivore species and feral forms has been problematic in many areas of the world.  Feral cats and mongooses, in particular, have decimated small mammal and bird species in several regions, driving some species to extinction. 

The habits and natural history attributes of this group are widely diverse.  Coyotes, wolves, and foxes are terrestrial and adapted for running; martens, fishers, and cats are expert climbers; badgers and skunks are adept at digging and burrowing; and otters specialize at swimming and spend much of there time in the water.  Most carnivores subsist on flesh (either freshly killed or carrion); however, bears, raccoons, ringtails, coyotes, and foxes eat a variety of foods, including insects, fruits, nuts, grains, and other plant materials. 

Texas has a relatively rich extant terrestrial carnivore fauna, with 20 native species and 1 introduced species (red fox) distributed in 6 families and 17 genera.  At least eight additional carnivore species historically occurred in Texas but have been extirpated in the last 100 years or so, most during the last 50 years.  For scientific and historical reasons, we include these extirpated species in the dichotomous key and in the accounts at the end of the chapter. 

Two marine carnivore families also are known from Gulf waters near Texas.  The Caribbean monk seal, Monachus tropicalis, is now extinct, and the California sea lion, Zalophus californianus, was introduced and occurred only in the feral condition; therefore, these two species are not included in the key for carnivores. 

Many carnivores, namely badger, bobcat, foxes, weasels, mink, otter, raccoon, ringtail, skunks, and spotted skunk (civet cat), are defined legally as fur-bearing animals and require a trappers' license if taken for the purpose of selling the fur.  Consequently, the capture of some fur-bearing animals is regulated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). 

 

KEY TO THE CARNIVORES OF TEXAS

1. Catlike; total number of teeth < 30; claws retractile .......................... 2

Not catlike; total number of teeth 34-42; claws usually not retractile ....... 7

2. Tail 10-15 cm, shorter than hind foot; total number of teeth 28; upperparts reddish or grayish brown streaked with black.  Lynx rufus (bobcat).

Tail 30-100 cm, much longer than hind foot; total number of teeth 30 .... 3

3. Upperparts uniformly colored in adults, not spotted .......................... 4

Upperparts spotted with black rosettes with light centers at all ages ....... 5

4. Total length of adults up to 3 m; tail about 1 m; weight usually >45 kg; color tawny.  Puma concolor (mountain lion).

Total length of adults up to 1 m; tail about 45 cm; weight up to 7 kg; upperparts reddish or grayish.  Puma yagouaroundi (jaguarundi).

5. Total length of adults >2 m; weight >45 kg.  Panthera onca (jaguar).

Total length usually <1.2 m; weight usually <18 kg ............................ 6

6. Length of hind feet >120 mm; length of head and body alone about 75 cm; weight 7-16 kg.  Leopardus pardalis (ocelot).

Length of hind foot <120 mm; length of head and body about 50-55 cm; weight 2-3 kg.  Leopardus wiedii (margay).

7. Doglike; total number of teeth 42 ................................................. 8

Not doglike; total number of teeth <42 (except in bears) .................... 13

8. Hind foot usually <170 mm; weight <9 kg (foxes) ......................... 9

Hind foot usually >170 mm; weight >9 kg (coyotes, wolves) .............. 11

9. Tip of tail white; upperparts yellowish or reddish; feet and lower part of legs black; hind foot near 160 mm.  Vulpes vulpes (red fox). 

Tip of tail black; hind foot usually <150 mm .................................... 10

10. General color of body grizzled grayish; legs reddish brown; tail with black stripe on upperside and black tip; hind foot usually >140 mm.  Urocyon cinereoargenteus (common gray fox).

General color of body grayish tan; hind foot usually <140 mm.  Vulpes velox (swift fox) or Vulpes macrotis (kit fox).

Two species of small foxes occur in Texas, but generally only specialists working with genetic data can identify them.

(1) Vulpes macrotis (kit fox); ear >75 mm from notch and set close together at base; auditory bullae large; occurs in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas.

(2) Vulpes velox (swift fox); ear <75 mm from notch and set apart at base; auditory bullae small; occurs in the Panhandle region of Texas.

11. Hind foot <200 mm; nose pad <25 mm in width; weight usually <18 kg.  Canis latrans (coyote).

Hind foot >200 mm; nose pad >25 mm in width; weight usually >18 kg ..... 12

12. Hind foot >250 mm; general color grayish.  Canis lupus (gray wolf).

Hind foot <250 mm; general color tawny or reddish mixed with black.  Canis rufus (red wolf).

13. Tail considerably shorter than hind foot; total number of teeth 42; weight of adults usually >100 kg; color black or brown (bears) ............................ 14

Not as above ................................................................................... 15

14. Claws on front feet 7-12 cm long; face distinctly dished in; ruff or mane present between shoulders; last upper molar nearly twice as large as the one in front of it.  Ursus arctos (grizzly or brown bear).

Claws on front feet seldom as long as 7.5 cm; face slightly arched or nearly straight in profile; no ruff or mane; last upper molar about 1.5 times as large as the one in front of it.  Ursus americanus (American black bear). 

15. Total number of teeth 40; tail usually with indications of alternating dark and light rings ...................................................................................... 16

Total number of teeth 32-36; tail lacking dark and light rings ................ 18

16. Tail as long as or longer than head and body; with 14-16 alternating black and white rings and a black tip; hind foot <80 mm; weight 1-2 kg.  Bassariscus astutus (ringtail).

Tail shorter than head and body and with six to seven alternating dark and light rings or rings inconspicuous; hind foot of adults 85 mm or more ........... 17

17. Snout extending conspicuously beyond mouth and highly flexible; tail about five times as long as hind foot; alternating rings obscured in adults.  Nasua narica (white-nosed coati).

Snout not extending conspicuously beyond mouth; tail two to three times as long as hind foot, rings conspicuous at all ages.  Procyon lotor (raccoon).

18. Upperparts black with longitudinal white stripe or stripes (skunks) ... 19

Upperparts not black and white striped .............................................. 23

19. Total number of teeth 32; back with single, broad white stripe from head to tail; nose pad large and flexible.  Conepatus leuconotus (hog-nosed skunk).

Total number of teeth 34; back normally with two or more white stripes; nose pad normal ................................................................................... 20

20. Six distinct broken or continuous white stripes on anterior part of body; white spot in center of forehead; hind foot seldom >50 mm ........................ 21

Not as above ................................................................................ 22

21. Black and white stripes on back nearly equal in width; white spot on forehead large, covering more than half of the area between the eyes; white stripes beginning between the ears or just behind them.  Spilogale gracilis (western spotted skunk).

Black stripes on back wider than the white ones; white spot on forehead small, seldom >15 mm in diameter; white stripes on back begin about 25 mm behind the ears.  Spilogale putorius (eastern spotted skunk).

22. Dorsal white stripe bifurcate; sides black.  Mephitis mephitis (striped skunk).

Dorsal stripe white or black but never bifurcate; sides usually with narrow white stripe beginning at ear.  Mephitis macroura (hooded skunk).

23. Total number of teeth 36; feet webbed; tail long, heavy, tapering; ears short; color chocolate brown; total length >1 m.  Lontra canadensis (northern river otter).

Total number of teeth 34; feet not webbed; total length <1 m ........... 24

24. Tail about as long as hind foot; claws on front feet about 25 mm in length and much longer than those on hind foot; body thickset, heavy; fur lax and long.  Taxidea taxus (American badger).

Tail noticeably longer than hind foot; body long and slender; fur relatively short ................................................................................................. 25

25. Color chocolate brown to black; midline of belly white.  Vison vison (American mink).

Color yellowish brown; head usually with black and white markings; tip of tail black and contrasting markedly with rest of tail .............................. 26

26. Feet brown or tan; hind foot <50 mm; weight <500 g.  Mustela frenata (long-tailed weasel).

Feet black; hind foot >50 mm; weight 500 to 1,500 g.  Mustela nigripes (black-footed ferret).

 

Family Canidae

Dogs, Foxes, and Wolves

Members of this family, which are easily recognized by their doglike features, are adapted to swift running on relatively open terrain.  Historically, seven species of this family were known from Texas, but two (the red wolf and the gray or timber wolf) are now extinct in the state. 

These is often considerable confusion concerning the identification of coyotes, gray wolves, red wolves, and domestic dogs, and it is documented that these species can successfully interbreed and produce fertile hybrids.  A few reports are received each year concerning the occurrence of red and gray wolves in Texas; however, in those instances where it has been possible to examine the specimen, all have proven to be unusually large coyotes or possibly coyote-dog hybrids.

 

Family Felidae

Cats

This cosmopolitan, highly predatory family includes 14 genera and 40 species worldwide.  Historically, there have been four genera and six species reported from Texas.  The margay, jaguar, and jaguarundi are extirpated from Texas, and the ocelot is highly endangered and is restricted to southern Texas.  The bobcat is abundant in the state, whereas the mountain lion is common in West Texas and rare in South Texas and the Hill Country. 

 

Family Mephitidae

Skunks

Long considered a subfamily of Mustelidae, in 1997 the skunks were raised to the familial level based on molecular systematic studies by Jerry Dragoo and Rodney Honeycutt at Texas A&M University.  Ten species and three genera of mephitids occur in the New World.  Four species belonging to three genera are known from Texas, and a fifth species, the hooded skunk (Mephitis macroura), may have been extirpated. 

The North American skunks are commonly recognized animals, particularly known for their anal scent glands, an effective antipredator device.  All skunks have developed a striking black-and-white color pattern.  The susceptibility of skunks to the rabies and distemper viruses serves to keep the populations under control and occasionally poses a health risk to humans. 

 

Family Mustelidae

Weasels, Otters, and Badgers

Mustelids typically are small to medium-sized long-bodied carnivores with short limbs and "shortened" faces.  Most species of mustelids are more carnivorous than canids and have short, powerful jaws designed to deliver an accurately placed death bite to the skull or neck of their prey.  The tubular-shaped body (except in the badger) enables them to hunt small prey species in rock crevices and holes.  They are worldwide in distribution but are more commonly found in north temperate regions.  Anal glands (musk glands) are present, and most species produce a pungent odor.  In Texas, the family is represented by four genera and four species.  A fifth species, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), has been extirpated.  Of these mustelids, the American mink and northern river otter are considered important fur-bearing animals in other regions of the United States, but they are of little economic importance in the Texas fur market. 

 

Family Otariidae

Eared Seals

 

Family Phocidae

Earless Seals

Earless seals currently are represented by nine species and eight genera in North America. Only one species, however, was ever known from the waters of the Texas Gulf Coast, and that species is now extinct.

 

Family Procyonidae

Raccoons, Ringtails, and Coatis

Procyonids occupy much of the temperate and tropical parts of the New World from southern Canada through much of South America.  Three species of this family (coati, raccoon, and ringtail) occur in Texas.  Historically, the raccoon and ringtail have been important fur bearers. 

 

 

Family Ursidae 

Bears 

Bears are the largest carnivore species in Texas.  Their appearance, size, skull morphology, and coloration is highly variable and has led to considerable taxonomic uncertainty, especially regarding subspecies recognition.  Currently, eight species are recognized worldwide, and three of those species occur in North America (black bear, grizzly or brown bear, and polar bear).  In Texas, the black bear is an extant species, but the grizzly bear was extirpated near the turn of the twentieth century.  Both species are strongly herbivorous and insectivorous, although they will eat fish, small mammals, and carrion. 

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From The Mammals of Texas, Seventh Edition by David J. Schmidly and Robert D. Bradley, copyright © 1994, 2004, 2016.  Courtesy of the University of Texas Press.

Natural Science Research Laboratory