Identification of animal species by protein radioimmunoassay of bone fragments and bloodstained stone tools.

In forensics and archaeology, it is important to distinguish human from animal remains and to identify animal species from fragmentary bones and bloodstains. We report blind tests in which a protein radioimmunoassay (pRIA) was used to identify the species of six bone fragments lacking morphological specificity and 43 bloodstained lithic tools, knapped experimentally and soaked in blood of known animal and human origin. The submitters of the bone fragments and the bloodstained tools each listed a number of possible species, from which the testers selected the best match with the pRIA results. All six bone fragments were correctly identified: three humans, a deer, a dog, and a cow. Forty-three tools were stained with blood from a wide variety of species including ungulates, carnivores, a fish, and a bird. On 40 of these 43, at least one species (or blood-free control) was identified correctly. Some of the tools were stained with blood of two different species. A mixture of sheep and musk ox blood was correctly identified; in several other mixtures, only a single species was detected. Two tools with human blood and one with human sweat were correctly reported as human. There was a single false positive (one of three controls reported as weakly bovine) and no false negatives. We conclude that the pRIA technique shows a high degree of accuracy in discriminating human from animal bone fragments and bloodstains and in identifying animal species.

Use of solid-phase double-antibody radioimmunoassay to identify species from small skeletal fragments.

Protein radioimmunoassay (pRIA) offers the potential to identify species in small skeletal fragments submitted as forensic evidence. The technique consists of protein extraction followed by a solid-phase double-antibody radioimmunoassay using controls of antisera (raised in rabbits) and radioactive (iodine-125) antibody of rabbit gamma globulin (produced in donkeys). Species determination results from evaluation of radioactivity uptake. To demonstrate the potential of this technique, six known bone samples (three human and three nonhuman, including one from a deer [Odocoileus virginianus]) were submitted for blind analysis. pRIA correctly distinguished the human from the nonhuman samples. Using 200 mg or less of each sample, species of the deer specimen was identified correctly, given the choices of cow, deer, dog, goat, and pig.

A Field Study of the Lava Lizard (Tropidurus Albemarlensis) in the Galapagos Islands.

The effect of removal of the parietal eye (parietalectomy) was studied in free-living lava lizards at the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Galapagos Islands, and the results were compared with those obtained with parietalectomized temperate zone iguanids. Behavior, activity, body temperature, and Iodine-131 uptake by the thyroid gland were studied from Jan. 23 to Feb. 27, 1964. Parietalectomy had no detectable effect on any of the parameters investigated. Home ranges of adult male and female lizards were measured, and defensive and antagonistic behavior was noted. The home ranbges of males often encompassed those of several females. Most adults arose and retired with the sun, and sharply reduced exposure to sunlight at midday. At night, lizards buried themselves in soil and leaf-litter, and the same bed sites were often regularly used. Individuals injected with Iodine-131 were located at night with a scintillation counter. Active lizards had body temperatures averaging 34 to 35°C (range 22.6 to 39.0°C), which showed a bi-modal distribution. Cloud cover was a significant factor in body temperature fluctuations. Sexual dimorphism, both in color and in size of adults, was marked. Females had red "cheek" patches and were smaller than males.Most males had sperm in their sperm ducts and some females contained large-shelled oviducal eggs. Mating males seized females with their jaws, and sometimes carried them some distance before attempting copulation. Posturing and perhaps the odor of refractory females discouraged males. The lizards were found to be insectivorous, but some plant material was also eaten. One small gecko (Phyllodactylus galapagoensis) was recovered from stomach contents.