Heath Short-spur (Anisodactylus nemorivagus)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Ground beetle |
| 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: | Anisodactylus nemorivagus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Duftschmid, 1812) |
| 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: | Largely restricted to England with a few records in south Wales. Rare and localised along the south coast and in the Thames Gateway. Associated with habitats which are vulnerable to loss of habitat quality and fragmentation so a decline in England is possible. No English records on the NBN Atlas since 2015. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A very localised and potentially declining species. A review of current status is necessary to identify any significant decline and/or range contraction. If a decline is identified then targeted habitat management and/or re-introduction will be required. |
| 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: | Yes |
| Justification: | Wider scale improvements to heathland habitat management might benefit this species but only if of sufficiently wide scale and extensive. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 2. Biological status assessment exists |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Associated with bare, dry ground and warm, south-facing slopes on heathland. This species was last reviewed in 2016 when it was considered very rare and rarely recorded and that the available data were very weak for detecting trends. As such the probability of a decline cannot be dismissed. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: In recognition of a potentially significant decline it is important to update the status of this species using existing opportunistic survey/monitoring data.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: More recent locations include Brentmoor Heath and Chobham Common in Surrey, Iping Common in West Sussex and Longdown in the New Forest.
Comments: If a decline is indicated then undertake actions 2 and 3.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Review historical and current management at existing locations and undertake literature reviews to characterise the range of heathland micro-habitats within which it is found. The reviews should help identify the management requirements of optimal heathland habitats, including vegetation structure and extent and location of bare ground, as well as the pressures which might result in further declines such as eutrophication, inappropriate grazing and accidental fires.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Brentmoor Heath and Chobham Common in Surrey, Iping Common in West Sussex and Longdown in the New Forest.
Comments: Actions 2 and 3 are related
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Depending on the results of the autecological study and site management reviews, restore suitable heathland habitats by appropriate means of clearing dense vegetation and also by creating bare ground in the form of scrapes in sheltered, warm locations.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Brentmoor Heath and Chobham Common in Surrey, Iping Common in West Sussex and Longdown in the New Forest.
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.