Agonum scitulum
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Ground beetle |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Not Relevant) [CR(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: | Agonum scitulum |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Dejean, 1828 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Telfer, 2016 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A very difficult species to identify, whose true status has been obscured by misidentifications in the past. Confirmed records are confined to England and there is just one modern location in the Medway area of Kent, where the species was last recorded in 1985 following an apparent decline. Historically the species was also known from the banks of the Thames, as well as sites in Cambridgeshire and Dorset. A 2016 record from Berkshire is potentially convincing but remains ambiguous. Considerable recent survey effort has focused on refinding this species in the Thames and Medway areas, as well as at Chippenham Fen, but has failed to produce further records. On this basis the species is probably not a priority for recovery actions, though conservation action is still justified as should genuine recent records come to light this may require reevaluation. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | More species survey required, and capacity building to do so |
| 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: | N/A |
| Justification: |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Unknown |
| Species Comments: | Telfer (2016) assessed species as Regionally Extinct as unrecorded since 1900 and subject to exhaustive survey. In 2016 it was recommended this species be sought at previously known sites, being last recorded in 1985; and also sought in winter and spring, from when most records originated. While some substantial effort has been made to relocate the species, it hasn’t been comprehensive. More effort required. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Revise and update the current IUCN Red List assessment for this species
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Training to maintain capability for identifying the species, and surveillance through the Ground Beetle Recording Scheme.
Action targets: 3. National Monitoring Plan agreed and implemented
Action type: Education/awareness raising
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: A study on the autecology of this species would be beneficial to inform future conservation action
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
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.