ABSTRACT
Carrion in terrestrial environments usually attracts a rather predictable assemblage of arthropods, and several studies have shown that a very large number of taxa can be acquired simply by visiting animal carcasses. As examples, Payne (1965) reported 522 arthropod species collected from pig (Sus scrofa L.) carcasses in South Carolina, USA; Reed (1958) reported 240 taxa from dog (Canis familiaris L.) carcasses in Tennessee, USA; Goff et al. (1986) reported 149 taxa from several kinds of carrion in the Hawaiian Islands; Braack (1986) reported 227 arthropod taxa at impala (Aepyceros melampus (Lichtenstein)) carcasses in South Africa; and Kočárek (2003) recorded 145 species of Coleoptera at rat (Rattus rattus L.) carcasses in the Czech Republic. Dozens of studies have reported smaller numbers of taxa (25-100), usually because fewer carcasses were used, the fauna was not intensively sampled, or the climate may have restricted regional taxa richness.
