Hydroporus elongatulus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Water beetle |
| 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: | Hydroporus elongatulus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Sturm, 1835 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Foster, 2010 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | There are records for only 4 hectads in England, all sites being Breckland fens with cryogenic pool systems. It also occurs in several fens in southern Scotland. There is no evidence of any recent decline in distribution but this species is confined to an irreplaceable habitat on a handful of sites. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Hydroporus elongatulus is restricted to ancient, natural, groundwater-fed pool systems in a highly restricted area, making it inherently vulnerable to extinction. |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | This species is far to rare and sedentary to benefit from generic wider countryside measures. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 4. Autecology and pressures understood |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Unknown |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Ad hoc recording as part of GB water beetle recording scheme (Balfour-Browne Club/Aquatic Coleoptera Conservation Trust) |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Make an inventory of all protected sites with post-1980 records. Consider opportunities for listing this species as a site 'feature' (e.g. review of SSSI citations).
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Site protection
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: In England, H. elongatulus is confined to Breckland, with records from 5 sites in 4 hectads. Records have been mapped in Atlas 1 (Foster et al, 2016).
Comments: Relevant to all sites in inventory.
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Undertake a review of this species and other water beetles dependent on relict-fens in order to promote better understanding of their conservation requirements. Hydroporus elongatulus belongs to a suite of water beetles closely associated with remnant fens; others include Agabus striolatus, Dryops anglicanus, D. auriculatus, D. griseus, Helochares obscurus, Hydrochus brevis, H. ignicollis, H. megaphallus, Hydroporus glabriusculus, H. scalesianus, Laccornis oblongus and Limnebius aluta.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 1 year
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Advise site managers on the presence and requirements of this species in consideration of SSSI, nature reserve management, and other land management, especially pond restoration and water level control.
Action targets: 5. Remedial action identified
Action type: Advice & support
Duration: 2 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.