Body size evolution in burying beetles (Staphylinidae: Silphinae: <em>Nicrophorus</em>)

Burying beetles (genus Nicrophorus) use small vertebrate carcasses for reproduction. Body size varies widely, both within and among species. Across species, body size is related to the size of the carcass used for reproduction, with larger species tending to use larger carcasses and smaller species using smaller ones. Further, body size is known to determine the outcome of competitive interactions for carcasses both within and among species. Currently, there is no comprehensive analysis of what drives these differences in size and how body size is distributed within the genus and across its geographic range. Pronotal width correlates with overall body size in burying beetles, so we used a large dataset of pronotal width measurements and geographical data to evaluate the relative importance of phylogeny, biogeography, and ecology in explaining body size variation in burying beetles. 1) Mean body size distribution among species is broad (4.15–10.97 mm pronotal width) and skewed, with more..., For each of these assessments, we used a dataset compiled by Derek S Sikes that included 12,019 pronotal width measurements from museum specimens and 5,247 pronotal widths from the scientific literature for 70&nbsp;Nicrophorus species (See Sikes &amp; Venables, 2013b for a list of museums from which specimens were borrowed). Each occurrence was georeferenced with corresponding latitude and longitude. Occurrence records from the literature, which lacked pronotal width data, were given mean values of the sex of their species, if known, or of their species, if sex was unknown. The full data set (museum + literature) was used to fill in gaps for the co-occurring species analyses, while only the museum data were used for the other analyses.
, , # Body size evolution in burying beetles (Staphylinidae: Silphinae: *Nicrophorus*)

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61h6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61h6)

**Data primarily from the PhD research of Derek Sikes, captured between 1996 and 2008.**

## Description of the data and file structure

File: NicrophorusBodySize2024.xlsx

Description of column headers

**specimen ID** Unique specimen identifier on determination labels placed on specimens examined by D. Sikes; prefix corresponds to original (but not necessarily current) depository [public museum or private collection]; see Dryad Repository ([http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mr221](http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mr221)) for more complete specimen data.

**species** Nicrophorus species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Silphinae: Nicrophorini)

**type** Information on the type status (holotype, lectotype, paratype, etc.), if known. Cells left blank if not known.

**storage** Current whereabouts of specimen when last checked (the...,

埋葬甲（burying beetle, genus Nicrophorus）以小型脊椎动物尸体作为繁殖基质。该类群的体型在物种内部及物种间均存在显著差异。跨物种而言，体型与繁殖所用的尸体大小呈正相关：体型较大的物种倾向利用更大的尸体，小型物种则对应使用更小的尸体。此外，已有研究表明，体型决定了种内及种间针对尸体的竞争互动结果。目前学界尚未有全面研究阐释该属甲虫体型差异的驱动因素，以及体型在该属内及其地理分布范围内的分布模式。埋葬甲的前胸背板宽度（pronotal width）与整体体型相关，因此本研究利用涵盖前胸背板宽度测量数据与地理数据的大型数据集，评估系统发育（phylogeny）、生物地理学（biogeography）及生态学（ecology）在解释埋葬甲体型变异中的相对重要性。
1) 物种间的平均体型分布范围较广（前胸背板宽度为4.15–10.97 mm）且呈偏态分布，多数……

本研究的各项评估均采用由Derek S. Sikes整理的数据集，该数据集涵盖70种埋葬甲的12019份博物馆标本前胸背板宽度测量数据，以及来自科学文献的5247条前胸背板宽度数据（标本借阅的博物馆名录详见Sikes与Venables，2013b）。所有记录均已进行地理配准，附带对应的纬度与经度信息。对于文献中缺乏前胸背板宽度数据的记录，若已知该标本的性别，则以对应物种该性别的平均宽度填充；若性别未知，则以该物种的整体平均宽度填充。全数据集（博物馆标本+文献数据）用于填补同域物种分析中的数据空白，其余分析则仅采用博物馆标本数据。

# 埋葬甲体型演化（Staphylinidae: Silphinae: Nicrophorus属，即隐翅虫科：Silphinae亚科：Nicrophorus属）

https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c2fqz61h6

**本数据集主要源自Derek Sikes于1996至2008年间开展的博士研究。**

## 数据与文件结构说明

文件：NicrophorusBodySize2024.xlsx

### 列标题说明

**标本编号（specimen ID）**：D. Sikes在检视标本时所贴鉴定标签上的唯一标本标识符；前缀对应标本最初（未必为当前）的收藏机构[公共博物馆或私人收藏馆]；完整标本数据详见Dryad知识库（Dryad Repository）：http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.mr221。

**物种（species）**：Nicrophorus属物种（鞘翅目Coleoptera: 隐翅虫科Staphylinidae: Silphinae亚科: Nicrophorini族）

**模式类型（type）**：标本的模式地位信息（正模holotype、选模lectotype、副模paratype等，若已知）；未知则留空。

**馆藏信息（storage）**：最后一次核查时标本的当前存放地点（原文后续内容未完整呈现……）