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International Journal of
Entomology Research
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VOL. 11, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Dynamic of the community of the cadaveric entomofauna of domestic pigs (Sus Scrofa Domesticus Linnaeus, 1758) corpses place at a littoral zone: Case of the open air of Ndogbong-Douala, Cameroon
Authors
Feugang Youmessi, Nyambioh II, Mbida
Abstract

Forensic entomology is a sub-discipline of forensic science that examines insects and other arthropods in a forensic setting. To gain a deeper understanding of the diversity and dynamics of cadaveric entomofauna in the littoral zone of Cameroon, a study was conducted on the carcasses of five domestic pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus, Linnaeus, 1758) on Campus 2 of the University of Douala, at Ndogbong from August 26 to November 16, 2024. A wooden protective cage was constructed to protect the carcass place on a layer of sterilized soil. Specimens were collected once a day, at 12 o’clock, until the end of the 83-day experiment. The observation of the physical changes that appear on the corpse during the degradation process allowed us to note five stages of decomposition: fresh, bloated, putrefied, dried and skeletonized. The sampling of the cadaveric entomofauna yield 5373 insects divided into 12 orders, 28 families, 22 genera and 40 species. Individuals of the Calliphoridae family, the first colonizers of the remains, were the most abundant with 4614 (85,87%) of the total number. This dominant family was followed respectively by Mites with 183 individuals (3,41%) and Muscidae with 164 individuals (3,05%). This study is the first forensic research carried out at the littoral zone of Cameroon to census the cadaveric entomofauna in view of their possible using later in solving criminal cases in court.

The Shannon index shows the family Calliphoridae at the skeletonized (H’skeletonized = 0.89) and putrefied (H’putrefied = 1.09) while the Berger-Parker dominance index shows that family diversity is high at the bloated stage (bloated ID = 0.26) followed by the dried stage (dried ID = 0.34). The Simpson index value confirms these data (bloated ID = 0.84; dried ID = 0.81). At the fresh (fresh ID = 0.51), putrefied (putrefied ID = 0.74), and skeletonized (skeletonized ID = 0.80) stages, family diversity is significantly lower. The Chao-1 non-parametric estimator shows that 12 out 14 “true” species were captured. The Margalef index shows that the decomposition stages richest in species are dried, followed by putrefied, while skeletonized, the fresh stage and the bloated are the least rich.
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Pages:387-396
How to cite this article:
Feugang Youmessi, Nyambioh II, Mbida "Dynamic of the community of the cadaveric entomofauna of domestic pigs (<i>Sus Scrofa Domesticus</i> Linnaeus, 1758) corpses place at a littoral zone: Case of the open air of Ndogbong-Douala, Cameroon". International Journal of Entomology Research, Vol 11, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 387-396
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