Taphonomic Marks on Pig Tissue Due to Cadaveric Coleoptera Activity Under Controlled Conditions

Abstract

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 Dermestes 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.

The Effect of Temperature and Laboratory Rearing Conditions on the Development of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae)

“…Also due to their ability to clear skin and hair off bodies cleanly, D. maculatus can be used to clean bones to assist with forensic cases . Moreover, dermestids are also relevant in forensic taphonomy as they may also leave macroscopic damage in tissues and bones . Their presence could also provide evidence of contamination, after exhumation of human remains, during storage in cemetery deposit .…”

The exploitation of fresh remains by Dermestes maculatus De Geer (Coleoptera, Dermestidae) and their ability to cause a localised and prolonged increase in temperature above ambient

“…Dermestid beetles are most commonly encountered as pests of dried stored products [15] and in a forensic context they are usually associated with the colonisation of dry or mummified remains [4,8,16]. There are, however, reports of them being found on bodies at an earlier stage of decomposition [5,17,18]. Whilst acknowledging that adult beetles may appear at an early stage of decomposition, some forensic entomologists consider that their larvae are not found until the body has started to dry out [9,19].…”

“…The author's unpublished observations indicate that the eyes of recently killed birds and other vertebrates are also quickly located and consumed by D. maculatus. Dermestes maculatus modify experimental post-mortem wounds in pigs' trotters [17] and it is therefore likely that they will do the same with fresh wounds. A characteristic feature of adult dermestids is the production of long thin dry frass contained within a peritrophic membrane and this has been used as a forensic indicator [26].…”

Identification of dermestid beetle modification on Neolithic Maltese human bone: Implications for funerary practices at the Xemxija tombs

“…4a) and are distinguished from shallow pits which are less than 0.5mm in depth. Shallow pits are sometimes referred to as incipient pits, and have been linked to practices of feeding on bone (Zanetti et al 2014). Bores do have parallel sides and represent internal mining of the bone for pupation chambers (Fig.…”

“…Moreover, when little dry tissue is available on skeletonised remains, dermestid beetles start to eat the bones themselves, leaving pits and mandible marks on the bone surface (Zanetti et al 2014).…”