|
|||||
|
|
The Red Swamp Crayfish Procambarus Clarkii (the Louisiana Crayfish) as a Particular Scavenger on a Human Corpse |
|
| Authors: | Jennifer P Pascali PhD Guido Viel MD PhD Giovanni Cecchetto MD PhD Nicola Pigaiani MD Stefano Vanin PhD Massimo Montisci MD PhD Paolo Fais MD PhD |
| Institution: | 1. Forensic Toxicology Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, 50134 Florence, Italy;2. Section of Legal Medicine, Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova, Via Falloppio 50, 35121 Padova, Italy;3. Unit of Forensic Medicine, Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, University of Verona, P.le L.A. Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy;4. School of Applied Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Queensgate, HD1 3DH Huddersfield, U.K;5. Unit of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 49, 40126 Bologna, Italy |
| Abstract: | An 85-year-old man was found deceased floating in an irrigation ditch 18 days after his disappearance. During crime scene investigation, specimens of the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii were found in proximity of the body. The feeding activity of these nonendemic crayfishes contributed to the formation of specific injuries on the body and in the production of a large substance defects inside the corpse. The aim of this paper was to illustrate the scavenging activity of P. clarkii on a human body and highlight the potential postmortem artefacts caused by this species. This is the first report on a real case of postmortem injuries produced by P. clarkii crayfishes on a submerged human body. So far, crustaceans are not considered useful for the estimation of the minimum postmortem interval. However, the important modifications on the corpses deriving from the activity of these animals should be kept in consideration. |
| Keywords: | forensic science forensic pathology Procambarus clarkii scavenging crayfish postmortem interval |