Cadaver wrapping and attendance performance of adult flies in an oil palm plantation in northern Peninsular Malaysia
There is accumulating evidence that criminals wrap dead bodies in an attempt to conceal evidence. To anticipate the forensic implications of this phenomenon, we examined whether ßies that are naturally associated with cadavers exhibit a delay in attendance or differ in species composition and abu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Entomological Society of America
2011
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10245/ http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/10245/1/Azwani%2C%20Ahmad.pdf |
| Summary: | There is accumulating evidence that criminals wrap dead bodies in an attempt to
conceal evidence. To anticipate the forensic implications of this phenomenon, we examined whether
ßies that are naturally associated with cadavers exhibit a delay in attendance or differ in species
composition and abundance patterns because of the presence of wrapping material. Wrapped and
exposed carcasses of dead monkeys placed in an oil plantation in Kedah, Malaysia, were visited over
50 d. On daily visits to each of the six carcasses, visiting adult ßies were sampled using hand nets. Flies
of 12 families were encountered. Calliphoridae (Chrysomya rufifacies Macquart and C. megacephala
(F.) was the most prevalent family, followed by Sphaeroceridae. Some families tended to be more
abundant in WRCs (i.e., Calliphoridae, Muscidae, and Phoridae), whereas others (i.e., Piophilidae,
Sepsidae, and Psychodidae) were more prevalent in exposed carcasses. Wrapping delayed the arrival
of all ßy species encountered, with delays varying from 1 to 13 d depending on species. Wrapping did
not affect species composition of ßies, but prolong the occurrence of some species. The results of the
current study emphasize the need to take into consideration the presence of a wrap when estimating
postmortem interval. |
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