Spercheus emarginatus
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Invertebrate > insect - beetle (Coleoptera) > Water beetle |
| Red List Status: | Regionally Extinct (GB scale) (Not Relevant) [RE(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: | Spercheus emarginatus |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Schaller, 1783) |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | This distinctive beetle has not been recorded in Britain since 1956, and the last record prior to that was in 1878. While Foster (2010) considered it "a candidate for reintroduction into a rich fen in East Anglia", it is a Central and East European species which may only ever have been a temporary occupant of this country. Reintroduction of long-lost species may be a higher priority if and when more extensive areas of fen are re-created in eastern England. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | Spercheus emarginatus is extinct in Britain and unlikely to return. Discussion is needed to reach a consensus as to whether re-introduction would be (a) appropriate, (b) feasible and ( c) of sufficient conservation priority. |
| 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.