Coleoptera Associated With Buried Carrion: Potential Forensic Importance and Seasonal Composition

Corrêa, Rodrigo César; Almeida, Lúcia M.; Moura, Maurício Osvaldo

doi:10.1603/me13166

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…21,22 Another taxon that colonised the bodies in this burial context was the coleopteran Ataenius sp. ; it is also proposed as part of the carrion fauna in burial context considering the fact that it has been recorded in buried carcasses at a depth of 30 cm 44 and that it digs oviposition chambers and tunnels under or near exposed carcasses. 45 A post-exhumation contamination occurred at the cemetery deposit.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New records of forensic entomofauna in legally buried and exhumed human infants remains in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mariani

García-Mancuso

Varela

et al. 2017

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine

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The study of carrion fauna associated with buried human corpses from a forensic perspective could provide useful information in criminal investigations. Insects and other arthropods remains sampled of 44 legally exhumed infant skeletons from La Plata (Buenos Aires, Argentina). They were identified at different taxonomic levels depending on the state of preservation. The specific diversity, abundance and frequency were analyzed and each taxon was assigned to the hypothetical colonization sequence: burial colonization, post-exhumation contamination at cemetery deposit or soil fauna. The phorid Dohrniphora sp. is mentioned for the first time in Argentina as carrion fauna of underground colonization, and the assemblage of Dohrniphora sp., Megaselia scalaris and Hydrotaea aenescens is proposed as indicator of buried cadavers. These findings provide new useful data to be applied in forensic entomology research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New records of forensic entomofauna in legally buried and exhumed human infants remains in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mariani

García-Mancuso

Varela

et al. 2017

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine

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“…While the process of decomposition of buried and exposed cadavers is the same, the rate of decomposition of buried cadavers is much slower [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. The biotic and abiotic parameters below ground are different to those above ground and the reduced insect activity in a grave environment means that buried bodies will decompose at an entirely different rate compared to an exposed cadaver in the same locality [ 10 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several centimeters of soil covering the carcass may prevent access to a cadaver for major Calliphoridae species ( Calliphora and Lucilia ) [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Some insects can still gain access to an interred cadaver through macro‐pores in the soil, though the access is restricted depending on the depth of burial and pore size [ 5 , 9 , 10 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. There is also limited knowledge on how far insects travel to colonize buried carcasses and only a handful of dipteran species (and some Coleoptera) are considered to have forensic importance in graves [ 15 , 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of the decomposition process of shallow graves on soil mite abundance

Pickles

Perotti

2021

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Burial of a cadaver results in a slower decomposition rate, due to more stable belowground temperatures and restricted access to necrophagous insects. In such circumstances, analysis of the soil mesofauna, with emphasis on mites (Acari) may be more valuable in time-of-death estimations. The production of volatile organic compounds of cadaveric decay results in changes, especially in the soil pH, which in turn would affect the abundance and diversity of the associated mites. In general, the effects of decomposition and the consequently altered pH levels on the abundance of mites in shallow graves, as well as the effects of fluctuating above-ground environmental parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) remain unknown.Here, we found that the decay of three pig cadavers buried in shallow graves (<30 cm below) caused a significant increase in the soil pH throughout decomposition, from neutral to alkaline. Cadaver decay attracted an abundance of mites: with 300 mites collected from the three pig cadavers compared to 129 from the control soil samples at the same depth. Mites rapidly became more abundant in cadaver-associated soils than in control soils after the fresh stage. Increasing soil pH had a positive impact on the abundance of mites in graves and there was a significant interaction between cadaver body temperature and soil pH. Above-ground fluctuations in temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation were found to have no significant direct effect on mite abundance in grave or control soils.

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“…In southern Brazil, forensic entomology is well disseminated (Vairo et al, 2015;Corrêa et al, 2014) but there are no available keys for all necrophagous female flesh flies, making this group under utilized in forensic cases. Mulieri et al (2010) provided a key to male and female adults of Sarcophaginae from Buenos Aires Q5 Province, including 39 species, that can be used partially to identify fauna from southern Brazil, but only four species herein analyzed were included among them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative morphology and identification key for females of nine Sarcophagidae species (Diptera) with forensic importance in Southern Brazil

Vairo¹,

Moura²,

Mello-Patiu³

2015

Revista Brasileira de Entomologia

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Please cite this article in press as: e Vairo, K.P., et al. Comparative morphology and identification key for females of nine Sarcophagidae species (Diptera) with forensic importance in Southern Brazil. Rev. Brasil. Entomol. (2015). http://dx.RBE 39 1-11 Revista Brasileira de Entomologia xxx (2015) xxx-xxx w w w . r b e n t o m o l o g i a . c o m a b s t r a c t The identification of female flesh flies was always considered a difficult task since morphological descriptions and keys for females are rare. Even in a forensic entomology framework, where females play a major role, female flesh flies are usually not identified. In order to fill this gap in Southern Brazil fauna we provide detailed descriptions and key for the female of nine species included in four genera: Microcerella halli (Engel), Oxysarcodexia paulistanensis (Mattos), Oxysarcodexia riograndensis (Lopes), Peckia (Euboettcheria) australis (Townsend), Peckia (Euboettcheria) florencioi (Prado and Fonseca), Peckia (Pattonella) intermutans (Walker), Peckia (Pattonella) resona (Lopes), Peckia (Sarcodexia) lambens (Wiedemann), and Sarcophaga (Bercaea) africa (Wiedemann). These species are distinguished mainly by genital characters as tergite 6 divided or undivided, presence of tergite 8, spermatheca morphology and vaginal plate shape.

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Coleoptera Associated With Buried Carrion: Potential Forensic Importance and Seasonal Composition

Cited by 18 publications

References 38 publications

New records of forensic entomofauna in legally buried and exhumed human infants remains in Buenos Aires, Argentina

New records of forensic entomofauna in legally buried and exhumed human infants remains in Buenos Aires, Argentina

The impact of the decomposition process of shallow graves on soil mite abundance

Comparative morphology and identification key for females of nine Sarcophagidae species (Diptera) with forensic importance in Southern Brazil

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