IUCN SSC Mid-Atlantic Island Invertebrates Specialist Group

Species

Back • Leipaspis lauricola Wollaston, 1862

Leipaspis lauricola Wollaston, 1862

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Family: Trogositidae
VU Vulnerable
IUCN Red List Status:
  • EX
  • EW
  • CR
  • EN
  • VU
  • NT
  • LC
  • DD
  • NE

Countries of Occurrence:
Spain - Canaries

Archipelago(s):
Canaries

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Assessor/s:
Nardi, G. & Mico, E.

Reviewer/s:
Alexander, K. & Nieto, A.

Contributor/s:

Facilitators / Compilers/s:

Assessment Rationale:

European regional assessment: listed as Vulnerable (D2), although it is not thought to be under major threat at present, it could be rapidly affected in future by habitat loss and degradation caused by a number of factors including climate change. Moreover, this species has a restricted distribution and occupies a specific habitat type (laurisilva forest); its area of occupancy is likely less than 20 km². It feeds on other saproxylic beetle species and consequently occupies a higher part of the food chain.

EU 27 regional assessment: listed as Vulnerable (D2), although it is not thought to be under major threat at present, it could be rapidly affected in future by habitat loss and degradation caused by a number of factors including climate change. Moreover, this species has a restricted distribution and occupies a specific habitat type (laurisilva forest); its area of occupancy is likely less than 20 km². It feeds on other saproxylic beetle species and consequently occupies a higher part of the food chain.

Geographic Range:

This is endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain. Present in four islands: La Palma and Tenerife (L. l. lauricola) and Gomera and El Hierro (L. l. gomerensis) (Plata-Negrache and Prendes-Ayala 1981, Izquierdo et al. 2004).

Regions:
Spain - Canaries
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
(km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
(km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
900 (m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
1200 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Paleartic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Canaries
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

There is little information available on the abundance of this species. It does not seem to be a very abundant species; Plata-Negrache and Prendes-Ayala (1981) report only three specimens of the nominal subspecies and six from the gomerensis subspecies.

Habitat and Ecology

This is an obligate saproxylic species. Both subspecies are present in the laurisilva forest vegetation belt, under the dead bark of fallen trees, where they feed on xylophagous beetles, probably Colydiidae from the genus Tarphius (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009).

Major Threat(s):

Habitat destruction (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009) appears to be a major threat to this species.

Conservation Actions

Not present in the Red Book of Invertebrates of Spain (Verdú and Galante 2006). It has been found at the Garajonay National Park in La Gomera (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009).