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231536

Influence of Scorpion Venom on Decomposition and Arthropod Succession .

Article

Last updated: 22 Jan 2023

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Abstract

Background: The contributions of forensic entomology and arthropod  in legal investigations have been known for centuries. There are many ways that insects can be used to help in solving a crime, but the primary purpose of forensic entomology is the determination of postmortem interval. The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of scorpion venom on the decomposition of rabbits' carcasses and on arthropods' colonization of rabbits' carcasses in indoor and outdoor environments. Methods: Twenty male rabbits were included in the study, divided into four groups, with 5 rabbits in each group. two groups were killed by spinal cord separation; group (1) kept in an indoor environment and group (3) in an outdoor environment. The other two groups were killed by scorpion stings (groups 2 and 4), kept indoors, and outdoor respectively. The carcasses were allowed to decompose, and arthropods were collected daily and examined morphologically. Results: The decomposition findings were less prominent in groups 2 and 4 with less maggot mass compared to the control groups. Furthermore, arthropod species were different and showed morphological changes in the form of dryness with the formation of ulcers in the larvae, appearance of irregular groves and tunnels in insects and dryness of the outer layer with damage to the ends of beetles. Conclusion: Scorpion venom affected the decomposition rate of rabbits' carcasses and arthropods' colonization with the difference in morphological appearance of arthropods between the control groups and scorpion stinging groups, which may be of forensic importance.

DOI

10.21608/eajbsz.2022.231536

Keywords

arthropods, entomology, Rabbit, Carrions, Decomposition, Scorpion

Authors

First Name

Fatma El-Zahraa

Last Name

Abd El-Aziz

MiddleName

A.

Affiliation

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Egypt.

Email

fatma.abdelgalil1@science.aun.edu.eg

City

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Orcid

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First Name

Seham

Last Name

Eldeeb

MiddleName

Mahmoud

Affiliation

Public health and community medicine, Zagazig University, Egypt

Email

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City

-

Orcid

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First Name

Nora

Last Name

Abdellah

MiddleName

Z.

Affiliation

Forensic medicine and clinical toxicology department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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First Name

Eman

Last Name

Shaltout

MiddleName

S.

Affiliation

Forensic medicine and clinical toxicology department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt.

Email

-

City

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Orcid

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First Name

Noha

Last Name

Ebrahem

MiddleName

Esmael

Affiliation

Forensic medicine and clinical toxicology department, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt.

Email

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City

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Orcid

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Volume

14

Article Issue

1

Related Issue

29870

Issue Date

2022-01-01

Receive Date

2022-02-23

Publish Date

2022-04-16

Page Start

209

Page End

219

Print ISSN

2090-0759

Online ISSN

2090-0821

Link

https://eajbsz.journals.ekb.eg/article_231536.html

Detail API

https://eajbsz.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=231536

Order

15

Type

Original Article

Type Code

672

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences, B. Zoology

Publication Link

https://eajbsz.journals.ekb.eg/

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Article

Created At

22 Jan 2023