Editing Silphidae (section)

==Taxonomy, evolution, and etymology==
The family Silphidae belongs to the order [[beetle|Coleoptera]]. They are commonly referred to as carrion beetles or burying beetles and are usually associated with [[carrion]], [[fungus|fungi]], and [[Feces|dung]]. In the past, members of the family [[Agyrtidae]] were included. This family has two subfamilies, [[Silphinae]] and [[Nicrophorini|Nicrophorinae]]. The antenna is made up of 15 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.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eggert, A.|author2=Muller, J. K. |title=Bi-parental care and social evolution in burying beetles: Lessons from the larder in Social Behavior in Insects and Arachnids|publisher= Cambridge University Press|place=Cambridge | year= 1997|pages=1–541}}</ref> There are approximately 183 species in this family, which are found worldwide although they are more common in temperate regions. ''[[Nicrophorus americanus]]'', known as the American burying beetle, is an [[endangered species]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Backlund, Douglas C.|author2=Gary M. Marrone|author3=Christopher K. Williams|author4=Kelley Tilmon|name-list-style=amp |title= Population Estimate of the Endangered American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Olivier (Coleoptera: Silphidae) in South Dakota.|journal=The Coleopterists Bulletin| year=2008 |volume= 62|issue =4|pages=9–15 |doi=10.1649/982.1 |s2cid=85841685}}</ref>

The oldest fossils of silphids are known from the Middle Jurassic (~ 163 million years ago) [[Daohugou Bed]] in Northern China.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Cai|first1=Chen-Yang|last2=Thayer|first2=Margaret K.|last3=Engel|first3=Michael S.|last4=Newton|first4=Alfred F.|last5=Ortega-Blanco|first5=Jaime|last6=Wang|first6=Bo|last7=Wang|first7=Xiang-Dong|last8=Huang|first8=Di-Ying|date=2014-09-30|title=Early origin of parental care in Mesozoic carrion beetles|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|language=en|volume=111|issue=39|pages=14170–14174|doi=10.1073/pnas.1412280111|issn=0027-8424|pmid=25225362|pmc=4191754|bibcode=2014PNAS..11114170C|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Toussaint|first1=Emmanuel F. A.|last2=Condamine|first2=Fabien L.|date=April 2016|title=To what extent do new fossil discoveries change our understanding of clade evolution? A cautionary tale from burying beetles (Coleoptera: Nicrophorus )|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|language=en|volume=117|issue=4|pages=686–704|doi=10.1111/bij.12710|doi-access=free}}</ref> 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 [[invertebrate]]s. They also found that egg production increased with flight loss because of a more limited food supply.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Abe, T.|author2=Ikeda, H.|author3=Kagaya, T.|author4=Kubota, K.|year=2008|title=Evolutionary Relationships Among Food Habitat, Loss of Flight, and Reproductive Traits: Life-History Evolution in the Silphinae(Coleoptera:Silphidae)|pages=2065–2079| journal=Evolution| volume=62|issue=8|doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00432.x|pmid=18507741|doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[File:Ridged Carrion Beetle (Oiceoptoma inaequale).jpg|alt=Ridged Carrion Beetle (Oiceoptoma inaequale)|thumb|Ridged Carrion Beetle (''Oiceoptoma inaequale'')]]
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 ''silva'' meaning "forests" or "of the woods".<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/sylvan</ref>