We report a case of male corpse colonization found inside a residence in the municipality of Areia, Paraíba, Brazil. The body was found in the gaseous stage of decomposition and was colonized by fly larvae. We reared the larvae collected at the crime scene on a temperature-controlled. We supplied beef as a feeding substrate for the larvae until adult emergence to allow taxonomic identification. Three specimens of Peckia (Squamatodes) ingens emerged in the laboratory. Thus, we present the first record of the flesh-fly Peckia (S.) ingens colonizing a human corpse in Neotropical region, updating the list of species with forensic potential. In addition, information on the total time of the species development and the implications of these findings for the consolidation of forensic entomology in the Northeast region were discussed.
Forensic science is an interdisciplinary area that is intimately related between the fields of physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics and forensic opportunity sciences, with the aim of supporting criminal investigations and civil justice. Forensic Entomology enters as the most promising and attention-grabbing course, especially for its versatility in identifying morphological characteristics in species identification, requiring new analytical tools such as microcopy and molecular analysis. With regard to the Molecular Age in Forensic Science, new technologies can be applied in the research field regarding necrobiota, a new and promising molecular tool that indicates the possible places of displacement of the body and people involved; phenotyping as an analytical tool for the phenotypic identification of the possible appearance of the suspect or missing person; epigenetics in the identification of suspects in the case of homozygous twins. All new tools open up the numerous possibilities for further development of Forensic Science, allowing greater agility in resolving criminal investigations.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.