Shingle Rove Beetle (Meotica anglica)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Rove beetle |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Meotica anglica |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Benick in Muona, 1991 |
| 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: | A scarce species associated with exposed sediments at the margins of clean streams and rivers in Wales, Scotland and three watercourses in England. Habitat generally threatened and widely degraded. Largely listed as S41 due to being considered endemic to the British Isles, however this is debated. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Not recorded in England since 1964. |
| 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: | Associated with exposed riverine sediments - sand, shingle, pebbles etc. - on fast flowing streams. Untargeted management to improve condition and area of these BAP priority habitats is likely to benefit this species. Potentially detrimental river management practices such as resectioning, straightening, and impoundment should be restricted where appropriate river shingle habitats are present. Where possible, work may be done to restore meanders and encourage natural sediment deposition. General work to prevent pollution and disturbance would also be beneficial. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 1. Taxonomy established |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Recent taxonomic works have considered it synonymous with Meotica moczarskii, a relatively widely distributed European species, rendering its endemic status uncertain. Small, subterranean and cryptic so likely to be underecorded. Requires status review and taxonomic clarification. If proven to be a unique endemic, species-specific conservation action might considered desirable. If not, wider good-management of ERS is probably sufficient. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Implement best practice for conservation and improvement of condition of exposed riverine sediments (ERS) as identified by various studies by the Environment Agency, Natural England, Countryside Council for Wales etc.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Landscape/catchment/marine management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: Upper River Dane catchment
Comments: Efforts to improve condition and area of ERS should be implemented at a national scale. Specific actions - e.g. protection from excessive trampling, management of INNS are detailed in Biodiversity Action Plans and the results of other studies on exposed Riverine Sediments.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Further taxonomic study to clarify status of this species, preferably using genetic analysis. If it is a unique endemic species the importance of conserving it will be increased significantly and further specific conservation actions may be required.
Action targets: 1. Taxonomy established
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Carry out IUCN status review
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
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.