Belongs within: Staphylinidae.
Contains: Nicrophorus, Silpha.
The Silphidae are a family of large, flattened beetles. Silphids are best known as scavengers of vertebrate carcasses but they also include predators of gastropods or insect larvae and plant-feeders. Silphinae, the large carrion beetles, prefer to reproduce on larger carcasses whereas Nicrophorus, the sexton or burying beetles, prefer smaller carcasses that they often bury before laying their eggs on them. As well as the widespread genus Nicrophorus, the subfamily Nicrophorinae includes the Asian genera Eonecrophorus and Ptomascopus. They are distinguished from other silphids by their truncate elytra, exposing three or four abdominal tergites, and stridulatory files on the fifth abdominal tergite (Peck 2001).
Within the Silphinae, members of the Neotropical genus Oxelytrum have the apices of the elytra drawn out into needle-like points. The pronotum in Oxelytrum and Necrophila is coloured black on the disc with yellow margins. Necrodes species have relatively large eyes, an orbicular pronotum, and greatly expanded hind femora in males. A row of long erect hairs is present behind the eyes in Oiceoptoma and Heterosilpha (Peck 2001).
Characters (Lawrence & Britton 1991): Relatively large and flattened with distinctive antennae (relatively long, eleven-segmented, with large, three-segmented, slightly asymmetrical, finely pilose club preceded by at least one glabrous, strongly transverse, concave segment). Body either glabrous or clothed with very short, fine hairs; eyes moderately large and protuberant; fore coxae large and projecting, all tarsal segments clothed beneath with yellow hairs. Larvae broad, depressed, heavily sclerotised, with lateral, plate-like expansions on thorax and abdomen.
<==Silphidae [Necrophoridae, Silphales, Silphalites]
| i. s.: Mercata festira Lin 1986RJ93
| Xylodrepa quadripunctataRD77
|--Nicrophorinae [Nicrophorini]P01
| |--EonecrophorusP01
| |--NicrophorusP01
| `--PtomascopusP01
| |--P. aveyronensisZ02
| `--P. morioLC20
`--Silphinae [Silphini]P90
| i. s.: Heterosilpha Portevin 1926P90
| |--H. aenescens (Casey 1880)P01 [=Silpha aenescensMP79]
| |--H. cervaria (Mannerheim 1843)MP79
| `--H. ramosa (Say 1823)P01 [=Silpha ramosaMP79]
| PtomaphilaP01
| |--P. lacrymosaLB91
| `--P. perlataLB91
| Aclypea Reitter 1884 [incl. Blitophaga Reitter 1884]P01
| |--A. bituberosa (LeConte 1859)P01 [=Silpha bituberosaMP79]
| |--A. opaca (Linnaeus 1758)P01 [=Blitophaga opacaR13]
| `--‘Blitophaga’ undata [incl. B. undata var. verrucosa]C01
|--Oxelytrum Gistel 1848LC20, P01 (see below for synonymy)
| `--O. discicolle (Brullé 1836)P01
`--+--+--Diamesus osculansLC20
| `--Necrodes Leach 1815LC20, P01 (see below for synonymy)
| | i. s.: N. lacrymosaB35
| | N. lividusLC40
| | N. osculans [incl. Silpha bifasciata]LC40
| | N. primaevusLC20
| |--N. littoralisLC20
| `--+--N. nigricornisLC20
| `--N. surinamensis (Fabricius 1775)LC20, GN09
`--+--Thanatophilus Leach 1815LC20, P01 (see below for synonymy)
| |--T. coloradensisP90
| |--T. lapponicus (Herbst 1793) [=Silpha lapponica, S. (Thanatophilus) lapponica]MP79
| |--T. micans (Fabricius 1794)GN09
| |--T. rugosusLC20
| |--T. sagax (Mannerheim 1853) [=Silpha sagax]MP79
| |--T. sinuatusC01 [=Silpha sinuataLC40; incl. T. sinuatus var. erythrurusC01]
| |--T. trituberculatus (Kirby 1837)MP79
| `--T. truncatus (Say 1850)MP79
`--+--Oiceoptoma Leach 1815LC20, P01 [=Oeceoptoma Agassiz 1847P01; incl. Isosilpha Portevin 1920P01]
| | i. s.: O. inaequaleP90
| | O. rugulosumP90
| |--O. nigropunctatumLC20
| `--+--O. noveboracenseLC20
| `--O. subrufumLC20
`--+--+--Phosphuga Leach 1817P01
| | `--P. atrata (Linnaeus 1758)LC20, L58 [=Silpha atrataRD77]
| `--DendroxenaLC20
| |--D. quadrimaculataP01
| `--D. sexcarinataLC20
`--+--SilphaLC20
`--Necrophila Kirby & Spence 1828LC20, P01 (see below for synonymy)
|--N. americana (Linnaeus 1758)LC20, P01
`--+--N. (Eusilpha)LC20
| |--N. (E.) jakowlewiLC20
| `--N. (E.) japonicaLC20
`--+--N. (Calosilpha Portevin 1920)LC20, P01
| |--N. (C.) brunnicollisLC20
| `--N. (C.) kurosawaiLC20
`--N. (Chrysosilpha Portevin 1921)B14, P01
|--N. (C.) chloropteraLC20
`--N. (C.) formosa (Laporte 1832)B14
Necrodes Leach 1815LC20, P01 [incl. Asbolus Bergroth 1884 non LeConte 1851P01, Cyclophorus Stephens 1829 non Montfort 1810P01, Protonecrodes Portevin 1922P01]
Necrophila Kirby & Spence 1828LC20, P01 [incl. Deutosilpha Portevin 1920P01, Eosilpha Semenov-Tian-Shanskij 1890P01]
Oxelytrum Gistel 1848LC20, P01 [incl. Hyponecrodes Kraatz 1876P01, Katanecrodes Schouteden 1905P01, Paranecrodes Portevin 1921P01]
Thanatophilus Leach 1815LC20, P01 [incl. Chalcosilpha Portevin 1926P01, Philas Portevin 1903P01, Pseudopelta Bergroth 1884P01, Silphosoma Portevbin 1903P01]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
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[LC20] Lü, L., C.-Y. Cai, X. Zhang, A. F. Newton, M. K. Thayer & H.-Z. Zhou. 2020. Linking evolutionary mode to palaeoclimate change reveals rapid radiations of staphylinoid beetles in low-energy conditions. Current Zoology 66 (4): 435–444.
[MP79] Miller, S. E., & S. B. Peck. 1979. Fossil carrion beetles of Pleistocene California asphalt deposits, with a synopsis of Holocene California Silphidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Silphidae). Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History 19 (8): 85–106.
[P90] Peck, S. B. 1990. Insecta: Coleoptera Silphidae and the associated families Agyrtidae and Leiodidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1113–1136. John Wiley & Sones: New York.
[P01] Peck S. B. 2001. Silphidae Latreille, 1807. In: Arnett, R. H., Jr & M. C. Thomas (eds) American Beetles vol. 1. Archostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia pp. 268–271. CRC Press: Boca Raton.
[R13] Reuter, O. M. 1913. Lebensgewohnheiten und Instinkte der Insekten bis zum Erwachen der sozialen Instinkte. R. Friedländer & Sohn: Berlin.
[RD77] Richards, O. W., & R. G. Davies. 1977. Imms’ General Textbook of Entomology 10th ed. vol. 2. Classification and Biology. Chapman and Hall: London.
[RJ93] Ross, A. J., & E. A. Jarzembowski. 1993. Arthropoda (Hexapoda; Insecta). In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 363–426. Chapman & Hall: London.
[Z02] Zherikhin, V. V. 2002. Ecological history of the terrestrial insects. In: Rasnitsyn, A. P., & D. L. J. Quicke (eds) History of Insects pp. 331–388. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.