Premolars compressed, pointed; and the molars with quadrate tuberculated crowns.
The broad molars are either bluntly tuberculated or transversely ridged; the outer side of the hind part of the lower jaw has a deep pocket; and the hind-limbs are generally very long, with the structure of the foot similar to that of the bandicoots.
Bases of the rhinophores surrounded by a sheath; dorsal papillae tuberculated and club-shaped, in a single row on either side of the dorsum; no cnidosacs.
With the single exception of the Indian sloth-bear, all the species have forty-two teeth, of which the incisors and canines closely resemble those of purely carnivorous mammals; while the molars, and especially the one known as the " sectorial " or " carnassial," have their surfaces tuberculated so as to adapt.
The premolars and molars may be rooted or rootless, with tuberculated or laminated crowns, and are arranged in an unbroken series.