Carrion-succession

Guides

• Dermestes maculatus

  hide beetle, skin beetle, flesh-eating beetle

  Dermestes maculatus is a cosmopolitan hide beetle with worldwide distribution on all continents except Antarctica. Adults are 5.5–10 mm, black with distinctive white hair bands on the pronotum. The species is a specialized decomposer of dry animal tissues, with physiological adaptations enabling survival on desiccated carrion where competitors fail. It holds significant forensic value for estimating postmortem intervals and is widely used by museums and universities for skeleton preparation. Larvae are densely setose with paired urogomphi on the terminal segment.

  forensic-entomologycarrion-beetlehide-beetleskeleton-preparationstored-product-pestdecomposerdermestidmuseum-pestcarrion-successionpostmortem-intervalPMI-estimation

• Trox robinsoni

  Trox robinsoni is a hide beetle in the family Trogidae, described by Vaurie in 1955. Members of this genus are specialized decomposers that colonize carcasses in advanced stages of decay, feeding on dried skin, hair, feathers, and other keratinous materials when little else remains. The species occurs in the north-central United States and central Canada.

  carrion-beetlehide-beetledecomposerkeratin-feederthanatosisTrogidaeColeopteraNorth-Americaprairiecarrion-succession