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The downfall of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago gave mammals an incredible opening, and they ran for it, rapidly becoming the dominant land vertebrates. Among those to emerge were the earliest carnivorans (members of the order Carnivora), whose living representatives include the cats and closely allied families, such as hyenas and mongooses, as well as dogs and closely allied families, such as bears, weasels, and seals.
Like their huumans, cats and dogs have their own fooding behaviors. When observed closely, you will notice small differences between mutts, pups, masters and nobles. Some research indicate that these differences start right from the food selection step, when the bowl is offered. The whole food selection routine requires organoleptic attributes of the food such as odor, taste, and texture.
It is not difficult to see why there is so much debate about the classification of the species “dog”. Given all of the research performed and published to validate the introduction of carbs and starches into the “dogs” diet, it is rather fallacious. Perhaps our species “dog” ability to process some carbs has always been present, a design for survival instead?
A carnivore is simply any species that eats meat, and this can range from carnivorous plants and insects to what we typically think of when we hear the word carnivore, like tigers or wolves. There are three different categories of carnivores based on the level of meat consumption: hyper-carnivores, meso-carnivores and hypo-carnivores.
Omnivores are the most flexible eaters of the animal kingdom. They eat both plants and meat, and many times what they eat depends on what is available to them. When meat is scarce, many animals will fill their diets with vegetation and vice versa. It is easy to understand why the species “dog” was included in this classification, however, was it not for that fact that the “dog” have no flat molars.
There are many different types of herbivores. Many eat a variety of plants, while some stick to one type of plant. Those who stick to one type of plant have their own special classifications. For example, animals that eat primarily fruit are called frugivores, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Fruit bats and flying foxes are examples of frugivores. And, animals and insects that eat mostly leaves — such as pandas, caterpillars, giraffes or koalas — are called folivores.
For the purpose of our articles and hypothesis, the relationships between tooth form, masticatory movements, and diet do hold up reasonably well when comparing related species. For example, bats that consume tough insects have longer shearing crests, whereas those that eat pulpy fruits have larger crushing and grinding surfaces. Likewise, omnivorous bears and the raccoon have larger crushing surfaces on their cheek teeth whereas carnivorous cats have larger shearing areas. And among bears, the bamboo-eating panda has larger crushing areas than the carnivorous polar bear, which has longer shearing crests.
Comparative anatomy is a valid scientific tool, but simplistic applications are often fallacious. The basic question for our hypothesis is not whether comparative anatomy and physiology are valid tools, as they clearly are, but whether or not we accept that the species “dog” is an omnivore as expressed by many, or facultative carnivore, as advocated by us.
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