Taxonomic scope

The European Red List consists of a selection of 436 saproxylic beetles species native to Europe or naturalised in Europe before AD 1500. When selecting species for inclusion in the Red List the following criteria was applied:

• to select families or subfamilies represented in the annexes of the EU Habitats Directive;
• to include all the saproxylic species within the selected families or subfamilies;
• to include all the saproxylic species listed on the Habitats Directive
  (even if they were not a member of the selected families);
• to select families of key old-growth species;
• finally, the total number of species to assess should be limited to a manageable number of species within the frame of this project.

The final selection of species covers all of the families or subfamilies of saproxylic beetle listed on the Habitats Directive and entire families of key old-growth species (e.g. Elateridae and Cetoniidae). Table 1 lists the families and subfamilies assessed.

This selection was made in consultation with the European Commission, the European Topic Centre on Biological Diversity (ETC/BD), Deborah Procter (European Focal Point on the IUCN-SSC Invertebrate Conservation Subcommittee), Keith N.A. Alexander (IUCN Saproxylic Beetles Specialist Advisor) and 14 other leading saproxylic beetle experts from across Europe who attended a Red List training and planning meeting attached to the 5th Symposium and Workshop on the Conservation of Saproxylic Beetles, held in Lüneburg, Germany on 12-13 June 2008.

Saproxylic beetles from the selected families that are of marginal occurrence in Europe were included in the project and were classed as Not Applicable. Species introduced into Europe after AD 1500 were not considered, but a list of these species is provided in Table 2. The European Red List uses Fauna Europaea (www.faunaeur.org) as its default taxonomy for saproxylic beetles. Distinct subpopulations and subspecies of saproxylic beetles within Europe were not individually assessed as part of this projec.

* An asterisk indicates that the family (or subfamily) has been fully assessed. Only for these families the % of endemic species is shown.

Data collection

For the saproxylic beetle species that are part of this study, the following data were compiled.

• Species’ taxonomic classification
• Geographic range (including a distribution map)
• Red List Category and Criteria
• Population information
• Habitat preferences
• Major threats
• Conservation measures (in place, and needed)
• Species utilisation
• Other general information
• Key literature references

The task of collecting the initial data was divided up geographically, by country. Experts collected information about the species per country and entered the data into the IUCN Species Information Service (SIS).

Data review and evaluation of assessments

European saproxylic beetles experts were invited to attend a five-day regional review workshop which was held at the Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station, Finland in June 2009.

Preliminary species summary reports were distributed to all the participants before the workshop to allow them to review the data presented and prepare any changes to the data.

Focused working groups were organised to efficiently review identified geographical sets of species. New information was added to the species summaries and maps, and corrections to existing data were made.

Preliminary Red List Assessments for each species were then made at the European and EU 27 levels. Facilitating staff from the IUCN Red List Unit and the IUCN Regional Office for Pan Europe reviewed the assessments to ensure they complied with the guidelines for application of the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria and included the most up-to-date comprehensive information.

Following the review workshop, the data were edited, and outstanding questions were resolved through communications with the workshop participants. The post-workshop draft assessments were also made available to allow the participating scientists to make any final edits and corrections.

The resulting finalised IUCN Red List assessments are a product of scientific consensus concerning species status and are backed by relevant literature and data sources.