When termites mimic disease: Vertebral osteolysis and indoor scene alteration in the French West Indies.

Entomologically induced bone modification is increasingly recognized in archaeological and palaeontological contexts yet remains rarely documented in forensic casework. We report an indoor forensic case of extensive vertebral destruction most consistent with arboreal nasutitermitine termites, herein reported as Nasutitermes sp. (Isoptera: Termitidae) in Martinique. A largely desiccated human skeleton, discovered in 2025 inside a locked residence, exhibited severe osteolysis of cervical vertebrae (C3-C6) and the right mandibular head. The lesions displayed diagnostic features of termite activity-honeycomb destruction, cortical boreholes, etched tunnel walls, and carton-together with shelter-tubes directly linked to the remains. Metastatic carcinoma, multiple myeloma, tuberculous spondylitis, and invasive aspergillosis were excluded based on lesion morphology, distribution, and absence of reactive bone. Other entomological agents (Dermestidae and Tenebrionidae [Coleoptera], Diptera, Formicidae, Halictidae, and Sphecidae [Hymenoptera], and dry-wood termites [Kalotermitidae]) were rejected because they do not produce cartonor shelter-tubes. This case demonstrates that termite activity can mimic lytic pathologies and perimortem trauma while simultaneously modifying the indoor depositional context. Forensic practice in termite-endemic regions should therefore include systematic documentation of fragile shelter-tubes, substrate and humidity conditions, and assessment by forensic anthropologists trained in entomological taphonomy to avoid misdiagnosis of cause and manner of death.