Common Burying Beetle vs gray wolf

Nicrophorus vespillo compared with Canis lupus

Key Differences

• Common Burying Beetle is Least Concern while gray wolf is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Burying Beetle	gray wolf
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (artrópode)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Insecta (inseto)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Coleoptera (besouro)	Carnivora (carnívoros)
Family	Staphylinidae	Canidae (Dogs & Wolves)
Genus	Nicrophorus	Canis (Dogs & Wolves)
Species	Nicrophorus vespillo	Canis lupus

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Burying Beetle and gray wolf share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Burying Beetle

LC — Least Concern

gray wolf

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~300.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Burying Beetle	gray wolf
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	13 years
Average Length	—	1.6 m
Average Weight	—	45.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Burying Beetle

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and Europe (4 countries).

gray wolf

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (Japan), Europe (5 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Vanuatu), and South America (5 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Burying Beetle

<em>Nicrophorus vespillo</em>, commonly known as the common burying beetle, is a species found across the Palearctic region, with documented occurrences in countries including Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It typically inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands, where it often exploits arid and semi-arid landscapes. The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, reflecting a currently stable global population. The common burying beetle belongs to the genus <em>Nicrophorus</em> and is best known for its remarkable behavior of locating and burying small vertebrate carcasses as a food source for developing larvae, a trait that places it among the ecologically important decomposers in its range. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and weight of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Population trends are considered stable across its broad distribution, and the species has not been identified as facing immediate conservation threats at a global scale.

gray wolf

O lobo-cinzento (Canis lupus), o canídeo selvagem mais amplamente distribuído, ocorre da América do Norte à Eurásia em habitats diversos, incluindo tundra, florestas e pradarias. São animais altamente sociais que vivem em matilhas familiares lideradas por um casal reprodutor dominante. Como predadores-chave, os lobos regulam as populações de presas e moldam profundamente a estrutura do ecossistema, como demonstrou sua reintrodução em Yellowstone. Antes muito perseguidos, as populações estão se recuperando em muitas regiões.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden