Gabrius exiguus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Rove beetle (macrostaph) |
| Red List Status: | Vulnerable (Not Relevant) [VU(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: | Gabrius exiguus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Nordmann, 1837) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Boyce, 2022 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | A rare and enigmatic species. The only post 1980 England records are for Dungeness. Two established Welsh populations are associated with early successional dune slack habitats. Habitats at Dungeness may provide similar critical features. No evidence of recent decline but poorly understood. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | The ecology of this species is poorly understood making assessments of conservation requirements and actions challenging. Targeted survey to increase understanding of this species is therefore important. |
| 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: | Management of dune slack sites to maintain early successional habitats might benefit this species, although its apparent rarity might limit its ability to benefit from such management. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Targeted survey at Dungeness and sites with dune slack habitats around the coast of England using pitfall traps to determine if it is present at additional sites and gather information on habitat associations.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites: Dungeness, Sefton Coast SAC, Northumberland Coast, Braunton Burrows SAC, Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes, North Norfolk Coast
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Autecological study of any extant populations identified to determine required conservation actions (if any).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: Dungeness, Sefton Coast SAC, Northumberland Coast, Braunton Burrows SAC, Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes, North Norfolk Coast
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Implement management practices to encourage habitat conditions suitable for Gabrius exiguus on known sites if necessary.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: Unknown
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites: Dungeness, Sefton Coast SAC, Northumberland Coast, Braunton Burrows SAC, Saltfleetby-Theddlethorpe Dunes, North Norfolk Coast
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.