NCJ Number
243752
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 200-205
Date Published
January 2013
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article reports on an anthropological analysis conducted on skeletal and dental remains .
Abstract
An anthropological analysis was conducted on skeletal and dental remains brought to the Galveston County Medical Examiner's office. The skeletal remains were dry, fragmented, and absent of typical fluvial characteristics. During microscopic examination, semitransparent, circular objects were discovered on the dentition, the mandible, tibial plateau, and distal femur. The objects were glycoproteinous adhesions deposited by the acorn barnacle, Balanus improvisus. B. improvisus is an intertidal barnacle found in estuaries in Galveston Bay. Basal diameter of the adhesions on the dentition were significantly smaller than those found on the postcranial bones (p = 0.010), indicating two consecutive cohorts adhered to the bone and dentition. As settlement typically occurs once a year, this would indicate that the remains were in the fluvial environment for at least 375-410 days. It is important in geographic areas that have prevalent fluvial environments that human remains, particularly dentition, are microscopically examined for marine life evidence. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.