The action of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) on bone remains: an actualistic taphonomy experiment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v15.n3.37993Keywords:
Site formation processes, Taphonomic agents, Insects, Dermestids, Bone surface modificationsAbstract
To deepen the current knowledge about the effects of certain insects on the bone record of the Salado River Depression, we carried out an actualistic experiment using the species Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) and modern bones of four faunal species of different size (Myocastor coypus, Dasypus hybridus, Ovis aries, Oryctolagus cuniculus). D. maculatus is a cosmopolitan beetle that colonizes surface carcasses in advanced stages of decomposition to consume dry muscle tissue. Occasionally, it can modify the bones and leave marks. 15 skeletal units with different states of integrity and amount of muscle tissue were disposed in a container with a colony of D. maculatus; then, a weekly record for six months was made by observing changes in the remains and in the behavior of the insects. Greater activity was observed in fractured specimens and with tissue. Subsequently, the bones were removed, cleaned, and analyzed with a trinocular microscope (8-40x). Few striae were recorded only on three specimens, one of them without fresh tissue since the beginning of the experiment. These results contribute to the available data regarding the modifications of D. maculatus on the bone record and its role as a taphonomic agent.
Downloads
References
Arnaldos, M. I., Sánchez, F., Álvarez, P., & García, M. D. (2004). A forensic entomology case from the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. Aggrawal’s Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, 5, 22–25.
Backwell, L., Huchet, J.-B., Harrison, J., & d’Errico, F. (2021). Invertebrate modification of bone. En J. Pokines, E. L’Abbé & S. Symes (Eds.), Manual of Forensic Taphonomy (pp. 631-666). Boca Raton: CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003171492-18
Backwell, L., Huchet, J.-B., Jashashvili, T., Dirks, P., & Berger, L. (2020). Termites and necrophagous insects associated with early Pleistocene (Gelasian) Australopithecus sediba at Malapa, South Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimate, Palaeoecology, 560, 109989. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109989
Backwell, L., Parkinson, A., Roberts, E., D’Errico, F., & Huchet, J.-B. (2012). Criteria for identifying bone modification by termites in the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimate, Palaeoecology, 337-338, 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.03.032
Balek, C. (2002). Buried artifacts in stable upland sites and the role of bioturbation: A review. Geoarchaeology: An International Journal, 17(1), 41–51. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/gea.10002
Beal, R. (1991). Dermestidae (Bostrichoidea) (including Thorictidae, Thylodriidae). En F. Stehr (Ed.), Immature insects (pp. 434-439). Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt.
Britt, B., Scheetz, R., & Dangerfield, A. (2008). A suite of dermestid beetle traces on dinosaur bone from the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation, Wyoming, USA. Ichnos, 15, 59–71. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940701193284
Campobasso, C. P, Di Vella, G., & Introna, F. (2001). Factors affecting decomposition and Diptera colonization. Forensic Science International 120(1–2): 18–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0379-0738(01)00411-x
Di Donato, R. (2010). Taphos nomos: El potencial de la tafonomía en la interpretación de contextos funerarios. En M. Berón, L. Luna y M. Bonomo (Eds.), Mamül Mapu: pasado y presente desde la arqueología pampeana (pp. 137-152). Ayacucho: Libros del Espinillo.
Escosteguy, P., Fernandez, A., & González, M. I. (2021). Insect marks on bones from La Guillerma archaeological locality (Salado River Depression, Buenos Aires, Argentina). Quaternary, 4(4), 45. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat4040045
Escosteguy, P., Frontini, R., & F. Day Pilaría (2020). Experimental and observational research in Zooarchaeology: Scopes, limitations and future perspectives. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 32, 102448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102448.
Fernandez, A., Morrás, H., & Bressan, E. (2022). Procesos de formación en sitios arqueológicos de la Depresión del Río Salado (provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina): Análisis desde la micromorfología de suelos. Arqueología, 28(2): 9984. https://doi.org/10.34096/arqueología.t28.n2.9984
Fernandez, A., & Escosteguy, P. (2019). Bioturbación por lombrices en sitios arqueológicos: Análisis desde la Tafonomía experimental. Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano. Series Especiales, 7(2), 99–109. http://repositorio.filo.uba.ar/handle/filodigital/12987
Fernandez-Jalvo, Y., & Andrews, P. (2016). Atlas of taphonomic identifications. 1001+ images of fossil and recent mammal bone modification. Dordrecht: Springer. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-017-7432-1
Frère, M. M., González, M. I., & Greco, C. (2016). Continuity in the use of shallow sites of the Salado River Basin in the Pampean Region, Argentina. Radiocarbon, 58, 921–933. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2016.63
Fugassa, M. H., Martínez, P. A., & Centeno, N. (2008). Examen paleobiológico de sedimentos asociados a restos humanos hallados en el sitio arqueológico Alero Mazquiarán, Chubut, Argentina. Intersecciones en Antropología, 9, 3–9.
Genise, J. (2017). Ichnoentomology: Insect traces in soils and paleosols. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28210-7
Genise, J., Mángano, M.G., Buatois, L., Laza, J., & Verde, M. (2000). Insect trace fossil associations in paleosols: The Coprinisphaera ichnofacies. Palaios, 15, 49–64. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2000)015%3C0049:ITFAIP%3E2.0.CO;2
Gifford-Gonzalez, D. (2018). An Introduction to Zooarchaeology. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65682-3_1
Go, M. (2018). A case of human bone modification by ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Philippines. Forensic Anthropology, 1(2), 117–123. https://doi.org/10.5744/fa.2018.0012
González, M. I. (2005). Arqueología de alfareros, cazadores y pescadores pampeanos. Buenos Aires: Sociedad Argentina de Antropología.
González, M. I., Escosteguy, P., Salemme, M., Frère, M. M., Weitzel, C., & Vecchi, R. (2021). Assessing strategies of coypu hunting and use in the Salado River Depression (Buenos Aires province). En J.B. Belardi, D. Bozzuto, P. Fernández, E. Moreno y G. Neme (Eds.), Ancient hunting strategies in Southern South America (pp. 59-82). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61187-3_3
González, M. I., & Frère, M. M. (2019). Río Salado: Espacio de interacción de cazadores-recolectores-pescadores (provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina). Revista del Museo de La Plata, 4, 611–632. https://publicaciones.fcnym.unlp.edu.ar/rmlp/article/view/2350/1690
Háva, J. (2018). World Catalogue of Dermestidae (3ª ed.). Recuperado de http://www.dermestidae.wz.cz
Hefti, E., Trechsel, U., Rüfenacht, H., & Fleisch, H. (1980). Use of dermestid beetles for cleaning bones. Calcified Tissue International, 31(1), 45–47. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02407166
Holden, A., Harris, J., & Timm, R. (2013). Paleoecological and taphonomic implications of insect-damaged Pleistocene vertebrate remains from Rancho La Brea, Southern California. PLoS ONE, 8, e67119. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0067119
Huchet, J.-B. (2014). Insect remains and their traces: Relevant fossil witnesses in the reconstruction of past funerary practices. Anthropologie, 52(3), 329–346. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26272486
Huchet, J.-B., Deverly, D., & Gutiérrez, B. (2011). Taphonomic evidence of a human skeleton gnawed by termites in a Moche civilization grave at Huaca de la Luna, Peru. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 21, 92–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.1110
Huchet, J.-B., Le Mort, F., Rabinovich, R., Blau, S., Coqueugniot, H., & Arensburg, B. (2013). Identification of dermestid pupal chambers on Southern Levant human bones: Inference for reconstruction of Middle Bronze Age mortuary practices. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40, 3793–3803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.04.025
Huchet, J.-B., & Greenberg, B. (2010). Flies, Mochicas and burial practices: A case study from Huaca de la Luna, Peru. Journal of Archaeological Science, 37, 2846–2856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2010.06.025
Igareta, A., Mariani, R., Varela, G., & Teileche, T. (2019). Insectos en contextos urbanos: Su rol como evidencia en un caso de reúso de objetos del siglo XIX. Comechingonia. Revista de Arqueología, 23(2), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.37603/2250.7728.V23.N2.27491
López, H., Baigún, C., Iwaszkiw, J.M., Delfino, R., & Padín, O. (2001). La cuenca del Salado: Uso y posibilidades de sus recursos pesqueros. Editorial de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata. http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/15937
Lyman, R. (1994). Vertebrate Taphonomy. Cambridge University Press.
Matu, M., Crevecoeur, I., & Huchet, J.-B. (2017). Taphonomy and paleoichnology of Olduvai Hominid 1 (OH1). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 27, 785–800. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2593
Muñoz-Saba, Y., Sánchez-Nivicela, J. C., Sierra-Durán, C., Vieda-Ortega, J. C., Amat-García, G., Munoz, R., Casallas-Pabón, D., & Calvo-Roa, N. (2020). Cleaning osteological specimens with beetles of the genus Dermestes Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Journal of Natural Science Collections, 7, 72–82. http://www.natsca.org/article/2584
Parkinson, A. (2012). Dermestes maculatus and Periplaneta americana: bone modification criteria and establishing their potential as climatic indicators. Tesis doctoral inédita. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand.
Parkinson, A. (2016). Traces of insect activity at Cooper’s D fossil site (Cradle of Humankind, South Africa). Ichnos, 23, 322–339. https://doi.org/10.1080/10420940.2016.1202685
Parkinson, A. (2022). Modern bone modification by Dermestes maculatus and criteria for the recognition of dermestid traces in the fossil record. Historical Biology. https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2022.2054714
Payne, J. A. (1965). A summer carrion study of the baby pig Sus scrofa Linnaeus. Ecology, 46(5), 592–602. https://doi.org/10.2307/1934999
Pirrone, C., Buatois, L., & Bromley, R. (2014). Ichnotaxobases for bioerosion trace fossils in bones. Journal of Paleontology, 88, 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1666/11-058
Richardson, M., & Goff, M. L. (2001). Effects of temperature and intraspecific interaction on the development of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). Journal of Medical Entomology, 38(3), 347–351. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585-38.3.347
Roberts, E., Rogers, R., & Foreman, B. (2003). An experimental approach to identifying and interpreting dermestid (Insecta: Coleoptera) bone modification. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 23, 89A–90A.
Robins, R., & Robins, A. (2011). The antics of ants: Ants as agents of bioturbation in a midden deposit in south-east Queensland. Environmental Archaeology, 16(2), 151–161. https://doi.org/10.1179/174963111X13110803261010
Schroeder, H., Klotzbach, H., Oesterhelweg, L., & Püschel, K. (2002). Larder beetles (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) as an accelerating factor for decomposition of a human corpse. Forensic Science International, 127, 231–236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0379-0738(02)00131-7
Villagran, X., Strauss, A., Alves, M., & Oliveira, R. (2019). Virtual micromorphology: The application of micro-CT scanning for the identification of termite mounds in archaeological sediments. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 24, 785–795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.02.035
Zanetti, N. (2014). Estudio bionómico de la coleopterofauna de interés forense en condiciones naturales y controladas en el área de Bahía Blanca (provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina). Tesis doctoral inédita. Bahía Blanca: Universidad Nacional del Sur.
Zanetti, N., Visciarelli, E., & Centeno, N. (2014). Taphonomic marks on pig tissue due to cadaveric Coleoptera activity under controlled conditions. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 59, 997–1001. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12399
Zanetti, N., Ferrero, A., & Centeno, N. (2015). Modification of postmortem wounds by Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) activity: A preliminary study. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 36: 22–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2015.07.001
Zanetti, N., Visciarelli, E., & Centeno, N. (2015). Associational patterns of scavenger beetles to decomposition stages. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 60(4), 919–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.12781
Zanetti, N., Ferrero, A., & Centeno, N. (2019). Depressions of Dermestes maculatus (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) on bones could be pupation chambers. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 40, 122–124. https://doi.org/10.1097/PAF.0000000000000449
Zárate, M., González de Bonaveri, M. I., Flegenheimer, N., & Bayón, C. (2000-2002). Sitios arqueológicos someros: El concepto de sitio en estratigrafía y sitio de superficie. Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, 19, 635–653. https://revistas.inapl.gob.ar/index.php/cuadernos/article/view/566
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Alejandro Fernandez, Paula Escosteguy, Fabricio Rugnone
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Those authors who have publications with this Journalaccept the following terms:
a. Authors will retain their copyrights and guarantee the journal the right of first publication of their work, which will be simultaneously subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License (Licencia de reconocimiento de Creative Commons) that allows third parties to share the work as long as its author and his first publication in this journal.
b. Authors may adopt other non-exclusive licensing agreements for the distribution of the version of the published work (eg, deposit it in an institutional electronic file or publish it in a monographic volume) provided that the initial publication in this journal is indicated.
c. Authors are allowed and recommended to disseminate their work on the Internet (eg in institutional telematic archives or on their website) before and during the submission process, which can lead to interesting exchanges and increase citations of the published work. (See The Effect of Open Access - El efecto del acceso abierto)
How to Cite
