1984
DOI: 10.1520/jfs11659j
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Human Remains Recovered from a Shark's Stomach in South Carolina

Abstract: When a local fisherman landed a 243-cm (8-ft), 59-kg (130-lb) tiger shark off the coast of South Carolina, the stomach contents included human remains. The distal femur articulations, complete patella, and proximal fourth of the tibia and fibula with connective tissue and a few hairs were present. The forensic science analysis of this material raised some unique questions not usually confronted by a physical anthropologist. Estimations of time since death necessitated research into the feeding and movement hab… Show more

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Cited by 24 publications
(24 citation statements)
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“…While sharks in captivity may not digest ingested material for days to weeks, 14,15 digestion of material in free-living sharks should not be impaired, and so the likelihood of obtaining meaningful material from stomach contents diminishes rapidly as time elapses from the attack. For this reason, there is little pathologic reason to capture and destroy potential attackers in search of possible remains of a victim.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…While sharks in captivity may not digest ingested material for days to weeks, 14,15 digestion of material in free-living sharks should not be impaired, and so the likelihood of obtaining meaningful material from stomach contents diminishes rapidly as time elapses from the attack. For this reason, there is little pathologic reason to capture and destroy potential attackers in search of possible remains of a victim.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This study contributes to the body of forensic anthropological research on shark predation and/or scavenging based on trauma and taphonomic analyses, which includes isolated case studies from Hawaii , the Gulf of Mexico , and the Atlantic coasts of South Carolina and Florida , using a retrospective approach to the skeletal interpretation of shark‐feeding activities. Further, the present research underscores the benefit and utility of taking an interdisciplinary approach to forensic anthropological casework, specifically, collaborating with a scientist with expertise in shark biology in cases where shark involvement is suspected.…”
Section: Florida Forensic Anthropology Cases: Taphonomic and Trauma Amentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In particular, battering/rounding has the potential to obliterate skeletal evidence of shark‐feeding activities. Furthermore, when human remains are ingested, prolonged exposure to the shark's caustic digestive system can lead to decalcification of the bone, although food may stay undigested in a shark's stomach for up to several weeks depending on its energetic needs . These confounding factors make the recognition of marine scavengers’ taphonomic signatures more difficult, calling for greater awareness of the potential presence of these scavengers’ activities, as well as documentation of their patterns of damage to human remains.…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…This is not traditional research; the repeatability of the situation is neither necessary nor expected. Exceptional examples include the identification of trophy skulls (Bass, 1983;Taylor et al, 1984), of human remains marked by surgical intervention (Sauer and Dunlap, 1985), and of those found in a sharks stomach (Rathbun and Rathbun, 1984) or eaten by a terrestrial carnivore (e.g., bear) (Murad and Boddy, 1987). Other examples appear in a book edited by Rathbun and Buikstra (1984).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%
“…These cover several areas including battered infant syndrome (Kerley, 1978b), stab wounds and blunt trauma (Sauer, 1984; Frayer and Bridgens, 19851, gunshot wounds (Smith et al, 1987), and strangulation (Angel and Caldwell, 1984). There are other instances where death might be caused by an animal like a shark (Rathbun and Rathbun, 1984) or bear (Murad and Boddy, 1987). Forensic anthropologists also play an important role in the investigation of mass disasters (Stewart, 1970;Charney, 1977).…”
mentioning
confidence: 99%