Incidental observation of bone modification by Crematogaster cf. liengmei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cape Town, South Africa.

Adeyemi Daniel Adetimehin, Calvin Gerald Mole, Devin Alexander Finaughty, Marise Heyns

Open access · hybridAbstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Forensic science, medicine, and pathology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

0citing papers in PubMed

0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Adeyemi Daniel AdetimehinDivision of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. yemiadetimehin@gmail.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4801-8552

Calvin Gerald MoleDivision of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8483-8190

Devin Alexander FinaughtyDivision of Natural Sciences, School of Chemistry and Forensic Science, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2585-1189

Marise HeynsDivision of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Department of Pathology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4567-9665

University of Cape Town · ZAUniversity of Ulster · GB

Funding

National Research Foundation BursaryNational Research Foundation CSUR116299University of Capetown JW Jagger Centenary Gift ScholarshipUniversity of Capetown Postgraduate Research Training GrantUniversity of Cape Town International Students Scholarship

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Different taxa of insects have been reported to modify the skeletal remains of vertebrates during feeding or the creation of their larval and pupal chambers. Anecdotal reports on the modification of skeletal remains by ants exist but are rare. In this paper, a case of modification of bone due to the feeding activity of the ant, Crematogaster cf. liengmei (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), is reported. In November 2022, a bone was encountered incidentally in the vicinity of the Table Mountain National Park. The bone had been colonized by several individuals of Crematogaster cf. liengmei. Several ants were observed feeding on and removing bone particles and soft tissue remnants. A closer observation revealed striae/furrows on the epiphyseal ends of the bone. A 60-kg pig cadaver used in a winter decomposition trial in the same area was similarly colonized by this ant species, resulting in soft-tissue modification. Due to the similarity in the striae/furrows observed on the bone and the bitemarks inflicted by the ants on the right ear of the pig cadaver in the vicinity, it was concluded that the striae/furrows seen on the bone were created by the ants. Our observations show that Crematogaster cf. liengmei is an important taphonomic bio-agent that can contribute to the modification of skeletal remains in terrestrial environments.

Indexed as

AntsFeeding BehaviorAnimalsBone and BonesForensic EntomologyModels, AnimalPostmortem ChangesSouth AfricaSwineAntsCrematogaster cf. liengmeiForensic entomologyInsect scavengingTaphonomy

Identifiers

PMID37702964

DOI10.1007/s12024-023-00714-2

PMCPMC11525404

OpenAlexW4386695846

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.