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Advantages of using development models of the carrion beetles Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius) and T. mutilatus (Castelneau) (Coleoptera: Silphidae) for estimating minimum post mortem intervals, verified with case data

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Abstract

Some beetles are as useful as blow flies for estimating the minimum post mortem interval (PMImin) or time since death. Examples include Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius) and Thanatophilus mutilatus (Castelneau), two geographically and ecologically overlapping African beetles. Molecular means of identifying these species, descriptions of their natural history, thermal summation models for the development of each species, and a case in which T. micans was recovered are presented. These beetles colonise bodies soon after death, their development spans more time than that of flies, and they may be little affected by maggot-generated heat. From an experimental perspective, they can be reared individually, which allows the identification of sick individuals and has analytical advantages relative to fly larvae that must be reared in groups. Estimating minimum post mortem intervals for both species using the case data strongly suggests that developmental models parameterised for one species should not be used to make forensic estimates for closely related species for which no specific model is available and emphasises the need for correct identifications.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Alicia Timm (Rhodes University) for access to laboratory facilities; Julia Joos Vandewalle for invaluable assistance in the laboratory; our three reviewers for their valuable comments and time; the South African Police Service for permission to work on the case; and Rhodes University for funding the project.

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  1. J. M. Midgley

    Present address: Department of Entomology and Arachnology, Albany Museum, Somerset Street, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Southern African Forensic Entomology Research Laboratory, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    J. A. Ridgeway, J. M. Midgley, I. J. Collett & M. H. Villet

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  1. J. A. Ridgeway
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Ridgeway, J.A., Midgley, J.M., Collett, I.J. et al. Advantages of using development models of the carrion beetles Thanatophilus micans (Fabricius) and T. mutilatus (Castelneau) (Coleoptera: Silphidae) for estimating minimum post mortem intervals, verified with case data. Int J Legal Med 128, 207–220 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-013-0865-0

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