Journal article
Different cadaver astigmatan mites (Arthropoda: Acari) are designed to bite flesh differently
- Abstract:
- How dead bodies decay is useful forensically. Necrophagous astigmatan mites (Acari: Sarcoptiformes) commonly attacking cadavers change from proteinseeking Type 1 surface feeding omnivores to interstitial Type 2 fragmentary feeding obligate fungivore / microbiovores as human body decomposition progresses after death. An analytical occlusive method shows that at each forensic decay stage the chelae of the astigmatans are designed to bite foodstuff differently. Fixed chelal digits are more ‘toothy’ than moveable digits in such sarcoptiform mites. Variation in fixed digit design is all about the size and pattern of peaks (‘peakiness’) for biting, while astigmatan moveable digit variation is mainly about the size and pattern of valleys (’gullet-ness’) for the ‘scooping’ of decaying material. Foodstuff caught on the moveable digit is thus masticated against the fixed digit like an ‘excavation-bucket’ machine used for handling aggregates in building construction. Lardoglyphus zacheri has a distinct chela suitable to slice flesh and grip myofibrils. Acarus siro through Sancassania berlesei to Tyrophagus putrescentiae show a cline in digit design from a dry material ‘demolition crusher’ with rough surface digits, through a wet chunk and slice feeder, to a specialist multifunctional saprophage. Sancassania berlesei is unlikely to actively burrow into flesh. Trophic niche width increases from stage 2 (bloated putrefaction) as soft food specialist species invade. Niche width markedly widens at stage 5 (mummified dry desiccated bones and remains), as incorporation into a soil with diverse saprophagous mites is coming to completion.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 2.9MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1007/s00114-026-02108-0
Authors
+ Liverpool John Moores University
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- Funder identifier:
- https://ror.org/04zfme737
- Grant:
- B/77307818
- Programme:
- Science Research Council grant
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Journal:
- Science of Nature More from this journal
- Volume:
- 113
- Issue:
- 3
- Article number:
- 56
- Publication date:
- 2026-04-29
- Acceptance date:
- 2026-04-17
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1432-1904
- ISSN:
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0028-1042
- Language:
-
English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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2407608
- Local pid:
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pubs:2407608
- Deposit date:
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2026-04-17
- ARK identifier:
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Bowman and Perotti
- Copyright date:
- 2026
- Rights statement:
- © The Author(s) 2026. Open Access. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder.
- Notes:
- Supporting data can be found at: Data for paper "Different cadaver astigmatan mites (Arthropoda: Acari) are designed to bite flesh differently" by C E Bowman in The Science of Nature.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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