Pterostichus aterrimus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Ground beetle |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered/Possibly Extinct (Not Relevant) [CR(PE)(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: | Pterostichus aterrimus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Herbst, 1784) |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | Historically known from the East Anglian fens and the Norfolk Broads, but declined during the 19th century and was not recorded in East Anglia after 1910. A population was discovered in the New Forest in 1969, but there have been no further records since 1973 despite intensive targeted searches of this locality. It is considered a relatively easy species to find in suitable habitat. Within the British range there may no longer be any recently cut-over bogs, or early-successional raised bogs to provide suitable habitat and thus the species is probably extinct in Britain. It is present in Northern Ireland. On this basis the species is not considered suitable for recovery actions. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Historically known from the East Anglian fens and the Norfolk Broads, but declined during the 19th century and was not recorded in East Anglia after 1910. A population was discovered in the New Forest in 1969, but there have been no further records since 1973 despite intensive targeted searches of this locality. It is considered a relatively easy species to find in suitable habitat. Within the British range there may no longer be any recently cut-over bogs, or early-successional raised bogs to provide suitable habitat and thus the species is probably extinct in Britain. It is present in Northern Ireland. On this basis the species is not considered suitable for recovery actions. |
| 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
Not relevant as no Key Actions defined.
Key Actions
No Key Actions Defined
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.