Primer registro y análisis de entomofauna con importancia forense en restos óseo humanos de contextos funerarios contemporáneos del Alto Valle de Río Negro, Argentina.

Abstract

The study of insects and other arthropods associated with human skeletal remains allows us to sometimes make some inferences about the circumstances surrounding the death process, the reconstruction of the decomposition environment and mortuary practices, information that could be valuable for the resolution of legal cases. In this sense, the present work consists of the first study on the abundance and diversity of arthropod fauna, mainly of forensic interest, associated with human skeletal remains from contemporary funerary contexts in the upper region of the Alto Valle of the river Negro (Río Negro, Argentina). Skeletal remains and the associated textiles of 16 individuals exhumed from Allen Municipal Cemetery and the Cipolletti Municipal Cemetery were analyzed. Currently the remains are being stored at the Paleobiology and Geology Research Institute (IIPG, CONICET-UNRN). The arthropod fauna was collected with pins, fine-tipped tweezers, and brushes, identified through the use of stereoscopic microscope and keys and, finally, quantified by numeral counting and per unit of volume. A total of 199.451 arthropods fauna samples were collected, including complete and incomplete adults, pupae and puparia, of which n=58.159 were found in skeletal remains and n=141.292 in associated textiles. A total of eight orders were identified, two belonging to cadaveric fauna (Diptera and Coleoptera), two to accidental fauna (Hemiptera and Hymenoptera) and four to soil fauna (Isopoda, Acari, Chilopoda and Diplopoda). The taxonomic identification at the family level was carried only for the cadaveric fauna, which constitutes 99,26% of the total sample. Thus, six families of the order Diptera (Phoridae, Sphaeroceridae, Piophilidae, Muscidae, Sciaridae and possibly Lonchaeidae) and one of the order Coleoptera (Staphylinidae) were identified. The results obtained from the analysis of the distribution of the arthropod fauna between anatomical units and individuals indicate a higher frequency in anatomical units from the axial skeleton, mainly in the skull, and the individuals with associated textiles. The results obtained in this work have generated valuable and original information on the entomofauna associated with human skeletal remains from contemporary funerary contexts in northern Patagonia. The importance of arthropods fauna fragments associated with human skeletal remains and textiles as potential evidence is valued. It is expected that this information will not only be a contribution to resolution of forensic problems but also to bioanthropological and entomological investigations in the region.