Nicrophorus americanus

Not to be confused with the non-endangered American carrion beetle (Necrophila americana) in the same family.

Nicrophorus americanus
adult female

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Silphidae
Genus: Nicrophorus
Species:
N. americanus
Binomial name
Nicrophorus americanus
(Olivier, 1790)
Synonyms
  • Silpha (Nicrophorus) orientalis Herbst, 1784 (Unav.)
  • Necrophorus [sic] grandis Fabricius, 1792
  • Nicrophorus virginicus Frölich, 1792

Nicrophorus americanus, also known as the American burying beetle or giant carrion beetle, is a critically endangered species of beetle endemic to North America.[3] It belongs to the order Coleoptera and the family Silphidae. The carrion beetle in North America is carnivorous, feeds on carrion and requires carrion to breed. It is also a member of one of the few genera of beetle to exhibit parental care. The decline of the American burying beetle has been attributed to habitat loss, alteration, and degradation, and they now occur in less than 10% of their historic range.

  1. ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Nicrophorus americanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T14760A4460296. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T14760A4460296.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ NatureServe. 2019. Nicrophorus americanus, American Burying Beetle. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.113123/Nicrophorus_americanus. Accessed 17 November 2021.
  3. ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Nicrophorus americanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T14760A4460296. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T14760A4460296.en.