Felidae  (cats: Tiger, Lion, Leopard)

Ursidae  (Giant Panda, Polar Bear, Brown Bear)

Procyonidae  (Raccoon)

Mustelidae  (Weasels, Badgers)

Mephitidae  (Skunks)

Herpestidae  (Mongooses)

Viverridae  (Civets, Genets)

Hyaenidae  (Hyenas)

Variety of species

Arabian Leopard (Panthera  Pardus Nimr)
Bali Tiger(Panthers tigris Balica)
Fennec Fox (Vulpes Zerda)
Grey Wolf (Canis Lupus)
Common Dwarf Mongoose (Helogale)
Javan Leopard (Panthera Pardus malas)

 
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Carnivora#Classification

 Location: Bengal Tigers live in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh

Habitat: Subtropical and tropical rain forests, alluvial grasslands,wet/dry deciduous forest, and mangroves.

 Bengal Tigers have muscular bodies with powerful limbs, large heads and long tails.

Tigers are commonly shades of orange, brown, and white with vertical black stripes;this helps them camouflage in areas with long grass

On the back of their ears is a white spot surrounded by black,called ocelli,that plays a  roll in communication.

The Bengal Tiger along with other subspecies have wide teeth; and their curved canines are the longest among feilids.

Behavioral characteristics

Bengal Tigers are strong swimmers and often bathe in ponds/lakes

Bengal Tigers lead solitary lives,and establish/maintain territories.When females bear young they become very territorial.

Bengal Tigers use their body weight,strength and speed to attack their prey, knocking it down and killing by biting its neck.

Bengal Tigers usually Mate from November to April, and after a gestation period of 3 months the female tiger gives birth to 2-3 tiger cubs.

Location: Red foxes are found across the entire Northern Hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, North America and Eurasia.

Red foxes live around the world in many diverse habitats such as forests, grassland, mountains, and deserts. They also adapt well in human environments such as arms and suburban areas.

Physical characteristics (internal & external)

Red Fox have an elongated body and short limbs with a long tail for balance, warmth and communication. They have very long canine teeth and a pronounced skull. Red foxes have various color mutations, the color of fur varies depending on regions.

Behavioral characteristics

Red Foxes hunt by first locating their prey by sound, then they leap, sailing high above the prey, steering in mid air with their tails before landing on its target up to 16ft away.

Red Foxes have a wide vocal range,and produce different sounds spanning five octaves.The majority of sounds can be divided into contact and interaction calls.

Red foxes mate in the winter months, the female gives birth to a litter of 2-12 kits.At birth Red foxes are brown or gray, but their new red coat grows at the end of the first month.

Red foxes travel alone, and are considered solitary animals.They are nocturnal although sometimes they will venture out in the day time.

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/red-fox/
http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Vulpes_vulpes/

Location: Polar Bears range largely within the Arctic Circle, Encompassing the Arctic Ocean. 
Habitat: Arctic sea ice

Physical characteristics (internal & external)

Polar Bears have fur that grows on the bottom of their paws which protects them against cold surfaces and helps the, grip ice.

The Polar Bears white coat provides camouflage to the surrounding snow,but underneath their fur they have black skin that soaks in the suns rays.

Polar bears are very strong swimmers and use their large webbed front paws as paddles.

Behavioral characteristics

Polar Bears are diurnal and are stealth hunters.The prey is unaware of the bears presence until the attack is underway.

Polar Bears usually live solitary lives and hunt alone, but have been seen play fighting with each other.

Polar bears are strong swimmers and can swim in open Arctic waters as far as 170 miles from land.

Polar Bears have a generally polygynous mating system;mating takes place in April and May(Males fight over “mating rights”)

True cats evolved among the Felidae family. Sabertooths were found within the Nimravidae an extinct family that included true cats and civets. Sabertooths also appeared in the Hyaenodontidae,a family of extinct mammalian in order Creodanta.
The Sabertooth morphology, discovered through fossil evidence,  is an example of convergent evolution because it appears in several evolutionary lineages by itself.  

Age of fossil: 39-42 million 

Meat eating mammals like bears, cats, and raccoon were considered arboreal in early evolution history. The Miacis Uintensis fossil was an amazing discovery that helped scientist discover that carnivores were built to walk on ground ,part of the time,  overtime carnivores developed to walk on land. 


http://www.amnh.org/our-research/science-news/2009/fossil-shelved-for-a-century-reworks-carnivore-family-tree/

Age of fossil: 8,000-35,000 (Holocene-Pleistocene) 

Comparative analysis of chromosomes has proved very useful becasue canids have a diversity of chromosome morphology ranging from species such as red fox which has a low diploid number of chromosomes(2n=36) to the Grey Wolf which has a high diploid number (2n=78).Chromosome analysis suggests several phylogentic divisions within the canidae.




http://wooferhouse.net/links/molecularevolutionofthedogfamily/molecularevolutionofthedogfamily.htm

Protein Analysis helps unravel phylogentic relationships of mammalian taxa. 
Phylogenetic relationship among 41 mammalian species have been analyzed by comparison of the amino acid sequences of the eye lens protein a-Crystallin A, which makes up about 20% of protein in the mammalian eye lens.It consists of 173 amino acids long and enclosed by a single-copy gene.This study Included the carnivore species of Canidae, Felidae, and Ursidae.