Data from: A deep dive into the fossil record of diving beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae): Bayesian inferences reveal their origin and pulsed diversification at the genus level

Predaceous diving beetles (Dytiscidae) are among the best-known and most extensively studied beetle clades. Yet, their fossil record remains surprisingly sparse and uneven, failing to reflect their broad extant diversity. Consequently, the study of their evolutionary history, leveraging the fossil record, particularly their diversification dynamics, has often been limited. To overcome this issue, we used the Bayesian Brownian Bridge model, which is particularly suited for clades with incomplete fossil records. Although primarily designed to estimate clade origination times, the model can also be applied to infer origination and extinction dynamics while accounting for biases due to uneven sampling. Using this model and a curated dataset of fossil occurrences covering 41 genera and 155 species of Dytiscidae, we estimated the timing of the family's origination and of each genus represented in its fossil record. Our results show an origin of Dytiscidae either during the Late Triassic (~220 million years ago), or during the Early Jurassic (~190 million years ago). Although these estimates are consistent with most recent time-calibrated phylogenies, they provide additional clues for an ancient origin of the family. Following their origin, Dytiscidae diversified across the different geological epochs, likely in response to tectonic shifts and climate oscillations.