caniform

1. not comparableCharacteristic of, or relating to the Caniformia.

plural caniforms

1. Any carnivore of the suborder Caniformia, which are regarded as dog-like.

   Modern carnivores appeared as well, diverging into the feliforms (cats, hyaenas, and mongooses) and caniforms (dogs, bears, raccoons, weasels, and seals).

   1997, Peter D. Ward, The Call of Distant Mammoths: Why the Ice Age Mammals Disappeared, page 73

   2 more examples

   It is representative of a group of early carnivores, the miacids, that were the ancestors of modern caniforms: the canids (that is, the dogs, coyotes, wolves, foxes, and jackals) and a large group made up of the bear, raccoon, and weasel families.

   2011, John P. Rafferty, editor, The Cenozoic Era: Age of Mammals, page 93

   Some paleontologists argue that in fact they^([extinct nimravids]) are closer to caniforms, while others place them as a distant relative of the feliforms.

   2013, Donald R. Prothero, Bringing Fossils to Life: An Introduction to Paleobiology, page 544