Repositorio
Institucional

Viciano, Joan

Lopez-Lazaro, Sandra

Tanga, Carmen

Post-Mortem Dental Profile as a Powerful Tool in Animal Forensic Investigations-A Review

MDPI

ANIMALS

en

Simple Summary Teeth are the hardest anatomical structure of the animal body. As a result, even when preservation conditions are extremely poor and the rest of the skeleton decomposes, the dentition is often still preserved. The strong nature of the teeth means that they are often an invaluable biological source of information about a deceased animal. This is particularly important in forensic investigations resolving legal disputes involving animals and in circumstances where the animal body is recovered a long time after death. The post-mortem dental profile can contribute information such as species identification, sex, age-at-death, body size, geographical origin (provenance), and post-mortem interval. Although the dental profile may not lead to a positive identification, it can narrow the pool toward a presumptive identity. In this review, we briefly examine different dental techniques using characteristics of teeth as a means of identification of freshly deceased and skeletonised animals, highlighting the importance of dentition in the identification process in forensic contexts. Veterinary forensics is becoming more important in our society as a result of the growing demand for investigations related to crimes against animals or investigations of criminal deaths caused by animals. A veterinarian may participate as an expert witness or may be required to give forensic assistance, by providing knowledge of the specialty to establish a complete picture of the involvement of an animal and allowing the Courts to reach a verdict. By applying diverse dental profiling techniques, not only can species, sex, age-at-death, and body size of an animal be estimated, but also data about their geographical origin (provenance) and the post-mortem interval. This review concentrates on the dental techniques that use the characteristics of teeth as a means of identification of freshly deceased and skeletonised animals. Furthermore, this highlights the information that can be extracted about the animal from the post-mortem dental profile.

artículo de revisión

This research was supported in part by the Agencia Nacional de Investigacion y Desarrollo (ANID) of Chile, through the project ANID FONDECYT 1211534.

Esta investigación fue apoyada en parte por la Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (ANID) de Chile, a través del proyecto ANID FONDECYT 1211534.

10.3390/ani12162038

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veterinary forensics

carcasses

teeth

species identification

sex estimation

age-at-death estimation

body size estimation

geographical origin

post-mortem interval estimation

bite mark analysis

STABLE-ISOTOPE ANALYSIS

SEXUAL-SIZE DIMORPHISM

ESTIMATING BODY-MASS

X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE

BADGER MELES-MELES

FOX VULPES-VULPES

FATAL DOG ATTACKS

AGE-DETERMINATION

CANINE DIMORPHISM

CARNIVORE TAXA

Agricultura

Lácteos y Ciencia Animal

Ciencias Veterinarias

Zoología

medicina forense veterinaria

cadáveres

dientes

identificación de especies

estimación del sexo

estimación de la edad al morir

estimación del tamaño corporal

origen geográfico

estimación del intervalo post-mortem

análisis de marcas de mordida

ANÁLISIS DE ISOTOPOS ESTABLES

DIMORFISMO DE TAMAÑO SEXUAL

ESTIMACIÓN DEL CUERPO MASA

RAYOS X-FLUORESCENCIA

TEJÓN MELES-MELES

ZORRO VULPES-VULPES

ATAQUES DE PERROS FATALES

DETERMINACIÓN DE EDAD

DIMORFISMO CANINO

TAXONES CARNÍVOROS

Post-Mortem Dental Profile as a Powerful Tool in Animal Forensic Investigations-A Review

artículo de revisión

version publicada

CC BY 4.0

CC BY 4.0

acceso abierto

acceso abierto

ANID-FONDECYT 1211534

ANID FONDECYT 1211534

WOS:000846371900001