Premium
Taphonomic Marks on Pig Tissue Due to Cadaveric Coleoptera Activity Under Controlled Conditions
Author(s) -
Zanetti Noelia I.,
Visciarelli Elena C.,
Centeno Néstor D.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of forensic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.715
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1556-4029
pISSN - 0022-1198
DOI - 10.1111/1556-4029.12399
Subject(s) - taphonomy , cadaveric spasm , biology , forensic entomology , larva , zoology , anatomy , ecology
The aim of this work was to study taphonomic marks that cadaveric coleopteran can produce under controlled conditions. To evaluate this, pig trotters were initially exposed to adults of D ermestes maculatus De Geer at 21 ± 5°C and a 12:12‐h day/night cycle. Observations were made and photographs taken every 4–5 days for 9 months. When feeding and reproducing, D . maculatus produced, in both adult and larvae stages, different types of marks such as holes, striations, scratches, and pits in several kinds of tissue such as integumental, connective, and muscular, in both their fresh and dried stages. Bite marks were also evident. The results in this study provide not only taphonomic but also biological and forensic information. This is the first time that this kind of experiment has been performed.