These summary statistics and analyses are based on the European saproxylic beetles dataset published in March 2010.

The status of saproxylic beetles was assessed at two regional levels: geographical Europe, and the EU 27. At the European level 10.7% were considered threatened, of which 0.5% Critically Endangered, 6.3% Endangered and 3.9% Vulnerable. A further 13% (56 species) are considered Near Threatened. A higher proportion of threatened species was seen in the EU 27 (14% threatened, of which 0.7% Critically Endangered, 7.9% Endangered and 5.4% Vulnerable), with 14% Near Threatened.

However, for more than a quarter of the species in Europe (122 species - 28%), there was not enough scientific information to evaluate their risk of extinction and they were classified as Data Deficient. When more data become available, many might well prove to be in fact threatened.

Although saproxylic beetles represent an ecological grouping and are not an entire taxonomic group, by comparison, 9% of butterflies, 13% of birds, 15% of mammals, 15% of dragonflies, 19% of reptiles, and, 23% of amphibians are threatened. No other groups have yet been assessed at the European level.

Furthermore, five saproxylic beetle species were considered as Not Applicable, either because they were introduced after AD 1500 or are of marginal occurrence in the European region.

*This table does not include the Not Applicable species in Europe and/or the EU (species introduced after AD 1500 or species of marginal occurrence). For the EU 27 assessment the Not Evaluated species (species which do not occur in the EU) are also excluded.

Red List status of saproxylic beetles in Europe

Red List status of saproxylic beetles in Europe
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Red List status of saproxylic beetles in the EU 27. Click to enlarge

Status by taxonomic group

The European saproxylic beetles assessed in this study belong to a number of different families, among which considerable differences exist both in species numbers as well as in threatened status.

Certain families are of particular concern: in particular the Coleoptera families Boridae (1 sp), Cerophytidae (1 sp), Euchiridae (2 spp) and Cetoniidae (22 spp).

* An asterisk indicates that the family (or subfamily) has been fully assessed. Note that the % of threatened species is also displayed for families that are not fully assessed, even if in such cases the percentages could result in misinterpretation.

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