The Probert Encyclopaedia of Nature

CANIDAE

The Canidae are the dog family, the only family included in the section Cynoidea, of the order Carnivora. The Canidae are much less highly specialized forms than the cats, as is shown by their more numerous and less strictly carnivorous teeth, their blunt non-retractile claws, and certain minor anatomical peculiarities. Most of the dogs hunt in packs, combining to overthrow animals which would be too powerful for the efforts of individuals. The members of the family are widely distributed, the type genus Canis being truly cosmopolitan, to which belong dogs, wolves, jackals and foxes, animals which differ from one another only in minor peculiarities.
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