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Silphidae
Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as large carrion beetles, carrion beetles or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Nicrophorines are sometimes known as sexton beetles. The number of species is relatively small and around two hundred. They are more diverse in the temperate region although a few tropical endemics are known. Both subfamilies feed on decaying organic matter such as dead animals. The subfamilies differ in which uses parental care and which types of carcasses they prefer. Silphidae are considered to be of importance to forensic entomologists because when they are found on a decaying body they are used to help estimate a post-mortem interval (PMI).
==Taxonomy, evolution and etymology==
The family Silphidae belongs to the order Coleoptera. They are commonly referred to as carrion beetles or burying beetles and are usually associated with carrion, fungi, and dung. In the past, members of the family Agyrtidae were included. This family has two subfamilies, Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. The antenna is made up of 11 segments and is capitate (ending in an abruptly capped club) in the Nicrophorinae and has a more gradual club shape in the Silphinae. The subfamilies also differ in behavior. Members of the subfamily Silphinae show little to no care for their young and breed on large carrion. Nicrophorinae breed on small animal carrion and will bury themselves and their food to rear their offspring in a bi-parental manner. There are approximately 183 species in this family, which are found worldwide although they are commoner in the temperate region. ''Nicrophorus americanus'', known as the American Burying Beetle, is an endangered species.
The oldest beetle fossils are over 265 million years old dating back to the Permian period but the oldest fossil Silphid is that of ''N. humator'' dating around 10,500 years and described in 1962 by Pearson.〔http://collections2.eeb.uconn.edu/nicroweb/PDFs/Sikes_et_al_2002.pdf〕 Many Silphidae are flightless although they have wings. This loss is thought to be a result due to the changes in habitat over time. Researchers have found that most flight-capable species in this group feed on vertebrate carcasses, whereas flightless species will feed on soil invertebrates. They also found that egg production increased with flight loss because of a more limited food supply.
The word "silphid" or "sylph", first seen in the sixteenth century in Paracelsus' works, refers to any race of spirits inhabiting the air and is described as mortal, but lacking soul. The word is also related to the Latin word ''sylva'' meaning "slender, graceful girl" and the Greek word ''nymph'' meaning "light, airy movements".〔Online Etymology Dictionary. http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=nymph〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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