Comparative analysis of bones, mites, soil chemistry, nematodes and soil micro-Eukaryotes from a suspected homicide to estimate the post-mortem interval

Criminal investigations of suspected murder cases require estimating the post-mortem interval (PMI, or time after death) which is challenging for longer periods. Here we present the case of human remains found in a Swiss forest. We have used a multidisciplinary approach involving the analysis of bones, soil chemical characteristics, mites and nematodes (by microscopy) and micro-Eukaryotes (by Illumina high throughput sequencing). We analysed soil samples collected beneath the remains of the head, upper and lower body and “control” samples taken a few meters away. The PMI estimated on hair 14C-data via bomb peak radiocarbon dating gave a time range of 1 to 2 years before the finding of the remains on site. Cluster analyses for chemical constituents, nematodes, mites and micro- Eukaryotes revealed two clusters 1) head and upper body and 2) lower body and controls. From mite evidence, we conclude that the body was likely to have been brought to the site after death. However, chemical analyses, nematode community analyses and the analyses of micro-Eukaryotes indicate that decomposition took place at least partly on site. This study illustrates the usefulness of combining several lines of evidence for the study of homicide cases to better calibrate PMI inference tools

A new Late Agenian (MN2a, Early Miocene) fossil assemblage from Wallenried (Molasse Basin, Canton Fribourg, Switzerland)

Excavations of two fossiliferous layers in the Wallenried sand- and marl pit produced a very diversified vertebrate fauna. New material allows the reassessment of the taxonomic position of the ruminant taxa Andegameryx andegaviensis and endemic Friburgomeryx wallenriedensis. An emended diagnosis for the second species is provided and additional material of large and small mammals, as well as ectothermic vertebrates, is described. The recorded Lagomorpha show interesting morphological deviations from other Central European material, and probably represent a unique transitional assemblage with a co-occurrence of Titanomys, Lagopsis and Prolagus. Rodentia and Eulipotyphla belong to typical and well-known species of the Agenian of the Swiss Molasse Basin. Abundant small mammal teeth have allowed us to pinpoint the biostratigraphic age of Wallenried to late MN2a. The biostratigraphic age conforms to data derived from the charophyte assemblages and confirms the oldest occurrence of venomous snake fangs. The palaeoenvironmental context is quite complex. Sedimentary structures and fauna (fishes, frogs, salamanders, ostracods) are characteristic for a humid, lacustrine environment within a flood plain system

The early Turolian (late Miocene) Cervidae (Artiodactyla, Mammalia) from the fossil site of Dorn-Dürkheim 1 (Germany) and implications on the origin of crown cervids

Dental and cranial appendage remains of Cervidae from the fossil site of Dorn-Dürkheim are studied in detail. The material mainly includes isolated teeth, isolated pedicles and antler pieces. Neither tooth rows nor complete appendages are recorded. Comparative morphology and statistics of morphometrics (principal component analysis and discriminant analysis) allow for the classification of small and large dentitions, small cranial appendages, two morphotypes of large pedicles and two morphotypes of large antlers. Possible combinations of the classified units document the sympatric occurrence of three species, namely, Procapreolus sp., Muntiacinae gen. and sp. indet., cf. Cervavitulus mimus, but the fragmentary condition of the material leads to ambiguity regarding their composition and, consequently, to a certain extent regarding the taxonomic identification. However, these remains indicate the contemporaneous occurrence of early Turolian members of the crown cervids Muntiacinae and Capreolinae and close a previous spatiotemporal gap in the European cervid record. In addition, their presence proves the progressive turnover from dichotomous-antlered muntiacines to early monopodial-antlered crown cervids from NE to SW Europe in the late Miocene. The taxonomical assignment challenges the recent hypothesis on the origin of crown Cervidae around the middle/late Miocene border since Dorn-Dürkheim cervids provide further evidence for the successive achievement of derived characters in cranial appendages of crown cervids (mediopostorbital position and backwards orientation of pedicles, coronet development, shaft development/elongation, beam development and increase in number of antler tines) in the lineage of crown cervids, which originated during the middle Miocene.Fil: Azanza, Beatriz. Universidad de Zaragoza. Facultad de Ciencias; EspañaFil: Rössner, Gertrud E.. Bayerische Staatssammlung Fur Palaontologie Und Geologie; AlemaniaFil: Ortiz Jaureguizar, Edgardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Digesta retention patterns of solute and different‑sized particles in camelids compared with ruminants and other foregut fermenters

Abstract The mean retention times (MRT) of solute or particles in the gastrointestinal tract and the forestomach (FS) are crucial determinants of digestive physiology in herbivores. Besides ruminants, camelids are the only herbivores that have evolved rumination as an obligatory physiological process consisting of repeated mastication of large food particles, which requires a particle sorting mechanism in the FS. Differences between camelids and ruminants have hardly been investigated so far. In this study we measured MRTs of solute and differently sized particles (2, 10, and 20 mm) and the ratio of large-to-small particle MRT, i.e. the selectivity factors (SF10/2mm, SF20/2mm, SF20/10mm), in three camelid species: alpacas (Vicugna pacos), llamas (Llama glama), and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus). The camelid data were compared with literature data from ruminants and non-ruminant foregut fermenters (NRFF). Camelids and ruminants both had higher SF10/2mmFS than NRFF, suggesting convergence in the function of the FS sorting mechanism in contrast to NRFF, in which such a sorting mechanism is absent. The SF20/10mmFS did not differ between ruminants and camelids, indicating that there is a particle size threshold of about 1 cm in both suborders above which particle retention is not increased. Camelids did not differ from ruminants in MRT2mmFS, MRTsoluteFS, and the ratio MRT2mmFS/MRTsoluteFS, but they were more similar to ‘cattle-’ than to ‘moose-type’ ruminants. Camelids had higher SF10/2mmFS and higher SF20/2mmFS than ruminants, indicating a potentially slower particle sorting in camelids than in ruminants, with larger particles being retained longer in relation to small particles