Chaenothecopsis caespitosa
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Fungus or lichen > fungus > Non-lichenised microfungus |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Not Relevant) [NT(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Chaenothecopsis caespitosa |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (W. Phillips) D. Hawksw. |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Woods & Coppins, 2012 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Redlisted as Near Threatened (2012) - Known only from Southern England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Without evidence of the national status of this species it will be very difficult to assess if there are any other species-specific actions required for its conservation; or if it is need of conservation at all. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | There is no evidence that an increase in the structural diversity of the habitat will directly benefit this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | There is a JNCC recognised redlist for GB distribution, but that is over 10 years old. The ongoing redlisting project (not published at the time this was completed) assessed this species as Data deficient. The recovery potential is unknown as the requirements of this species are not fully understood. It has been recorded on the rotten bark of taxus and from the fruitbody of an unidentified polypore fungus. It is not believed to form an association with algae. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: An assessment of the necessary national species records should be made according to IUCN guidelines to provide a recognised redlist status criteria for this species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: At the time of this assessment there was an ongoing redlisting project. It is likely that data needed for this action has already been generated by that project, or will be. The completion of the redlisting project should remain a priority, and be updated in line with IUCN guidelines.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake research into the autoecology of this species and/or key pressures/threats, with studies designed to ascertain its resource requirements. (E.g. It has been recorded on the rotten bark of Taxus, but also on the fruitbody of a polypore fungus). It should be ascertained how generalist/opportunist a species it might be, or if there are anomalies to these records.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: N/A
Comments: The species is known from less than 5 sites in the last 50 years, so all populations should be studied. Once the autecology is understood, it may be possible to ascertain the pressures on this species that are causing its decline.
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Targeted survey of Taxus woodlands to determine range/distribution and population size, since there appears to be a lack of definitive data on this species.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.