Feloidea

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Feloidea (order Carnivora, suborder Fissipedia (or Feliformia)) A superfamily that comprises the families Viverridae (civets and mongooses), Hyaenidae (hyenas), and Felidae (cats). These are the most specialized of all mammalian carnivores, the specialization being most marked in the Felidae. The feloids range from the civets, small animals occupying a position in tropical environments similar to that occupied by the weasels in higher latitudes, to the lions and tigers, and include the hyenas, in which the teeth are sufficiently massive to crush bones, permitting hyenas to subsist partly by scavenging.