First Report of Dermestes frischii Kugelann (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) on a Human Corpse, South of Iran

Abstract

The necrophagous species of beetles provide useful complementary data to estimate the post-mortem interval in forensic cases. We report, for the first time, Dermestes frischii Kugelann, 1792 larvae from a mummified human body covered with bushes and located in a canal in Sarvestan district, Fars province, south of Iran. The human corpse was a 63 year old male. The time of death was estimated to have been 23 days prior to the finding of the body based on the police investigations and confessions of a suspect. This beetle can be helpful to estimate the time of death in the future.