The DOI matches its Crossref record.
Rodents as Taphonomic Agents: Bone Gnawing by Brown Rats and Gray Squirrels*
Abstract
Abstract: Passive infrared technology was used to film diurnal and nocturnal scavenging behavior of brown rats and gray squirrels at the University of Tennessee’s Anthropological Research Facility. This direct documentation demonstrated that brown rats modified fat‐laden cancellous bone while gray squirrels generally gnawed the thicker bone cortices only after fats had leached away. A case study placed in a shaded portion of the Facility indicated the postmortem interval for initial gnawing by gray squirrels was slightly over 30 months. An examination of 53 human skeletons in the William M. Bass Forensic Skeletal Collection revealed that 10 cases had gnaw marks consistent with those made by gray squirrels. One of the 10 cases had been gnawed within 16 months of time‐since‐death, while the remaining nine had postmortem intervals >30 months. Additional observed modifications made to nonhuman bone by gray squirrels indicate that squirrel gnaw marks on bone can serve as a minimal estimate of time‐since‐death in a temperate environment similar to that of East Tennessee.
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“The 108 trials lasted between one hour [45] ( = 0 months) and ca. 30 months [59] (Fig. 4)”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [59]
In the citing paper
“eight ex periments exceeded the study duration of one year [32,59,66,95]”
From Forensic experiments on animal scavenging: A systematic literature review on what we have and what we need (2023) · cites this paper as [59]
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Indra, L., Lösch, S., Errickson, D., & Finaughty, D. (2023) · Forensic Science International · doi:10.1016/j.forsciint.2023.111862 · Cited by 18
Metadata
- Authors
- Klippel, W. E., & Synstelien, J. A.
- Affiliations
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Corresponding author
- Klippel, Walter E.
- Venue
- Journal of Forensic Sciences
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2007-05-25
- Volume
- 52
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 765-773
- ISSN
- 0022-1198 (ISSN-L)
- 1556-4029
- OpenAlex
- W1994440484
- Cited by
- 128
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 9
- FWCI
- 2.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Forensic Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Insect Science › Forensic Entomology and Diptera Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology (arts and humanities) › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Social Sciences › Archeology › Archaeology and ancient environmental studies
- Keywords
- rodent gnawing, taphonomy, Rattus norvegicus, Sciurus carolinensis, bone modification, postmortem interval estimation, postmortem interval, skeletal remains, scavenging behavior, trabecular bone, bone cortex
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Behavior, Animal, Bone and Bones, Humans, Postmortem Changes, Sciuridae, Forensic Anthropology, Rats
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