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Taphonomic marks on pig tissue due to cadaveric Coleoptera activity under controlled conditions
Noelia I Zanetti1, Elena C Visciarelli, Néstor D Centeno
1Laboratorio de Entomología Aplicada y Forense, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Saéns Peña 352, Bernal, 1876, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cátedra de Parasitología Clínica, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, Bahía Blanca, 8000, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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.
