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Got me reading up on Carnivora. Interesting, I never knew that walruses and seals are so closely related to canines and felines! Then again, I never studied biology, so there are no doubt plenty more similarly well-known fauna family ties that I never learned about.

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Anyone who has met a sea lion up close knows that the name 'sea dog' was wasted on sharks. An error which has been corrected in the mascot of a few minor sports clubs.

seals are called "sea dog" in many Germanic languages

And hyenas are closer to cats than to dogs.

Hyenas are big cats, no? Is this not a commonly known fact?

They're not big cats, they're only feliforms. Big cats belong to felidae. But no, it's not commonly known that hyenas are more closely related to cats than to dogs.

This blew my mind, we all walk around with some hilariously wrong assumptions. Thanks for the info.

> Hyenas are big cats, no?

No.

This is blowing my mind. Thank you for the clear answer.

I always thought of Hyenas as more like "big dogs" - compare with these canids: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_wild_dog

But in reality, Hyenas are neither cats nor dogs.

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