thanatofauna

English

Etymology

From thanato- +‎ fauna.

Noun

thanatofauna (countable and uncountable, plural thanatofaunae)

1. Fauna present on a dead body, especially one that may be used to estimate the time of death.
   • 2020 December 9, Stefan PittnerValentina BugelliM. Eric BenbowBianca EhrenfellnerAngela ZisslerCarlo P. Campobassoet al., “The applicability of forensic time since death estimation methods for buried bodies in advanced decomposition stages”, in PLOS One‎^[1], volume 15, number 12, →DOI, page 9:

     The presented study provides the necessary groundwork and important insights into the strengths and limitations of individual approaches, as well as the background for developing multidisciplinary operating procedures, specifically for understanding general applicability of investigated PMI markers (i.e., morphology, protein biochemistry, thanatofauna and microbiome) for bodies in earth graves.