Beetles associated with buried carcasses: potential forensic importance in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Burial has a special influence on carrion fauna, which may change the rate of decomposition and so affect postmortem estimates. This study aimed to identify species and succession of beetles on buried remains. From 28 January to 31 May 2021, we examined the Coleoptera on buried and exposed rabbit carcasses, on the campus of the University of King Saud in an area measured around 175 m by 250 m. The area is almost entirely devoid of flora, except for a few acacia trees and some common wild herbs. It is about 1 km away from residential neighborhoods. In total, 165 specimens belonging to 4 families were collected. The Tenebrionidae was the most abundant family, where it formed 52% at a depth of 20 cm and 78% at a depth of 40 cm in the buried carcasses, while the family Dermestidae was the most abundant in the surface carcasses, as it formed 53% of the insects sampled. Type Mesostena puncticollis Solier, 1835 (Tenebrionidae) predominated at exposed carcasses as well as at depths of 20, 40 cm and while type Dermestes frischii Kugelann, 1792 (Dermestidae), predominated at depth of 40 cm and exposed carcasses, and type Saprinus chalcites (Illiger, 1807) (Hisiteridae) at depth of 20 only. These findings are possibly useful in forensic investigations involving buried bodies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.