Species characteristics of felids and canids, and the number of articles published for each species between 2013 and 2017

The data presented are related to the research article entitled “Biases in wildlife and conservation research, using felids and canids as a case study” available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00423. This data article lists species characteristics of two families of the order Carnivora, the Felidae and Canidae, and quantitatively categorizes research output for each species. The species characteristics that were included in the dataset are body size (in kg), geographic range size, IUCN species status, population trend, likelihood of being a keystone species, number of species per genus, the Evolutionary Distinctiveness (ED) score, and the Evolutionary Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) score. All scientific articles that were published on felid and canid species between 2013 and 2017 were listed and subdivided into the following research topics: (1) ecology and behaviour, (2) conservation and wildlife management, (3) anatomy and physiology, (4) diseases and other health issues, (5) captive housing and artificial reproduction, (6) genetic diversity and phylogenetic structure, and (7) taxonomy and palaeoecology. All the data is made publically available.