Animals belonging to this order are called carnivores and are
characterized by clawed feet and by teeth which are adapted for tearing
and cutting flesh. The carnivores, or meat-eaters, were first
represented by an ancient group of animals called _creodonts_, and this
short-lived group first appeared in the Paleocene and were extinct by
the end of the Eocene. They ranged from the size of a weazel to that of
a large bear, and their claws were sharp and well developed. Their
teeth, however, were not as specialized as those of modern carnivores,
and the creodont brain was relatively small. It is assumed that these
animals had a very low order of intelligence when compared to the more
advanced carnivores of today.
These early meat-eaters were followed by more specialized carnivores
which developed throughout Cenozoic time. Some examples of these are the
saber-tooth cat _Dinobastis_ (Pl. 47) and the dire wolf _Canis diris_
(Pl. 47), both of which have been reported from the Texas Pleistocene.
Some remains of these unusual forms, representing the cat and dog
families, are on display at the Texas Memorial Museum.