Hairy Click Beetle (Synaptus filiformis)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Click beetle |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Synaptus filiformis |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Fabricius, 1781) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Currently known from the River Parrett (Somerset), the River Wye (Monmouthshire), the River Severn (Gloucestershire), and Rusland Pool (Cumbria). The main threat to surviving populations is river engineering: channel straightening and deepening, dredging, bank grading, and flood defence work. Dense stands of Indian Balsam Impatiens glandulifera and Giant Hogweed Heracleum mantegazzianum are also problematic, especially on the River Severn. No red-list assessment is available, although this is planned and so is excluded from the review actions. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Extinct in England, where only ever known from artificial habitat (on a bridge in Cumbria), so possible reintroduction seems inappropriate. |
| 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: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | The only record of a Synaptus filiformis larva in Britain is in clayish mud at the roots of Reed Canary-grass Phalaris arundinacea, and adults are usually food on this plant. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Assess current red-list status to inform conservation decision-making
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: Not applicable
Comments: Review is a desk-study and can be compiled from existing records.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Provide advice to flood defence teams to ensure they are aware of species presence and its vulnerability at suitable locations
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: River Parrett (Somerset), the River Wye (Monmouthshire), the River Severn (Gloucestershire), and Rusland Pool (Cumbria)
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Control invasive non-native species on occupied sites, and establish new Phalaris stands as part of soft-engineering close to known sites as well as create new offline wetlands with an emphasis on Phalaris.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 5 sites
High priority sites: Prioritisation is subject to assessment of invasive vegetation at all occupied sites
Comments: River Parrett (Somerset), the River Wye (Monmouthshire), the River Severn (Gloucestershire), and Rusland Pool (Cumbria)
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.