Searching the Soil: Forensic Importance of Edaphic Fauna After the Removal of a Corpse

Abstract

Arthropods at different stages of development collected from human remains in an advanced stage of decomposition (following autopsy) and from the soil at the scene are reported. The corpse was found in a mixed deciduous forest of Biscay (northern Spain). Soil fauna was extracted by sieving the soil where the corpse lay and placing the remains in Berlese-Tullgren funnels. Necrophagous fauna on the human remains was dominated by the fly Piophilidae: Stearibia nigriceps (Meigen, 1826), mites Ascidae: Proctolaelaps epuraeae (Hirschmann, 1963), Laelapidae: Hypoaspis (Gaeolaelaps) aculeifer (Canestrini, 1884), and the beetle Cleridae: Necrobia rufipes (de Geer, 1775). We confirm the importance of edaphic fauna, especially if the deceased is discovered in natural environs. Related fauna may remain for days after corpse removal and reveal information related to the circumstances of death. The species Nitidulidae: Omosita depressa (Linnaeus, 1758), Acaridae: Sancassania berlesei (Michael, 1903), Ascidae: Zerconopsis remiger (Kramer, 1876) and P. epuraeae, Urodinychidae: Uroobovella pulchella (Berlese, 1904), and Macrochelidae: Glyptholaspis americana (Berlese, 1888) were recorded for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula.

Potential of Ascidae, Blattisociidae and Melicharidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) as Biological Control Agents of Pest Organisms

“…Proctolaelaps euserratus Karg was reported from animal and human decomposing tissues, probably preying upon necrophagous arthropods or feeding on fungi (Masan et al 2013 ). The authors mentioned that the record of P. epuraeae on human remains in Spain (Saloña et al 2010 ) refers to a misidentifi cation of P. euserratus , and that records of a supposedly new species of Proctolaelaps on human remains in Belgium (Leclercq and Verstraeten 1988 ) and cat remains in Hawaii (Early and Goff 1986 ;Goff 1989 ) could also refer to P. euserratus. Proctolaelaps regalis can also feed on fungus and yeast (Houck et al 1991 ;Houck 1994 ).…”

Soil bulb mites as trace evidence for the location of buried money

“…According to Lindo and Winchester, the micro-arthropods and mites' abundances are considerably greater in forests soils when compared with the canopy layers of the same environments [41]. Despite these efforts, only a handful of studies have focused on soil mite fauna, especially pristine environments and its role as evidence in crime scenes [12,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53].…”

First contribution of mites (Acari) to the forensic analysis of hanged corpses: A case study from Spain

“…In many countries it is still common practice to remove the corpse from the scene of death, and only when the pathologist/coroner is performing the autopsy the forensic entomologist is (not often) called to collect and examine arthropod specimens [15,31]. The case of a mummified corpse hanging from a tree branch in Thailand already [ ( F i g .…”

“…The combination of necrofluids with necrophilic fauna parallels decomposition without a body, in a new, ephemeral ecosystem, the soil beneath. Within the Arthropoda, mites are the most ubiquitous in soil exposed to decomposition, even when the corpse or carcass has been removed [15][16][17].…”