Any family tree produces some lemons, some nuts and a few bad apples. ~Unknown
If you don’t see the truth in this, your family may be an outlier. Anyway, as with the fruit and vegetable oddities mentioned in my November 7th post, food group classifications can be wildly diverse. And so it is with the animal kingdom and biological groupings. I knew that, but I didn’t realize how strange they might be until I had lunch with my granddaughter a few weeks ago. She has a wide-ranging and eclectic knowledge bank, and she happened to mention that cats and hyenas are related. Say what?
Here's how the hyena family tree shakes out
This classification was pulled from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library. Well, most of it. I added a few comments.
- Kingdom: Animalia. (I don’t need to explain, do I?)
- Phylum: Chordata. (Usually indicates animals with a backbone.)
- Class: Mammalia. (Not explaining that one, either.)
- Infraclass: Eutheria. (Placental mammals.)
- Order: Carnivora (Meat eaters, but you knew that.)
- Suborder: Feliformia (Feline refers to cats, of course, and this is where the dogs exit into the suborder Caniformia.)
- Family: Hyaenidae (hyenas)
- Genus: Crocuta. (Verbatim, because there’s no other way to say it, “an unknown wild animal of Ethiopia.”)
You see that the family for hyenas is Hyaenidae, but for cats, the family is Felidae. That’s where the similarity ends, and yet another cut is made. With each separation, the groupings become more homogenous. For example, the suborder Feliformia includes hyenas, cats, mongooses, and civets. However, a cat’s “family” narrows to housecats and big cats. But hyenas are in a “family” that includes no other animal. So, no, hyenas are not in the “family” with cats, but darned close. Humor me.
Factors below the surface
Take a look at the images above and tell me whether you would include any of these animals in the same grouping – I mean, apart from way up the ladder to mammals. They don’t have a lot in common besides being 4-legged. Still. According to AZ Animals, physiological similarities dictate taxonomists’ decisions and these shared traits are not always cosmetic.
An example is the type of food consumed – is the animal a meat-eater or does it solely dine on green, leafy vegetables? Another factor would be an animal’s method of hunting. A leopard employs ambush; a cheetah stalks. Yes, they’re both cats, but they fall into different subfamilies. By the way, cheetahs don’t roar; they purr.
And you thought "your" family tree had interesting characters ...
Perhaps your family members are more similar than you think. Maybe the similarities are below the surface. Maybe you don’t yet know enough to recognize where your characteristics are mirrored in someone else. Maybe you are noticeably different from some of your siblings or cousins. That is neither a plus nor a minus, but perhaps you could gain enlightenment by learning more about them. And about yourself.
