Assessment Rationale:

Seddon (2008) assessed this species as Near Threatened (version 3.1) due to the small number of known localities (between 7 and 15) with a gradual decline in habitat quality close to roads and gardens. Like all species on Madeira, the species also has  restricted extent of occurrence. The assessment could meet the criteria for Vulnerable, if the restricted number of localities is confirmed, however, at present it is thought to be under-recorded and present in small fragments of surviving habitat and hence listed as Near Threatened, almost meeting criteria B.

Geographic Range:

This species is restricted to Madeira, where it is mainly found on the south side of the island outside the laurisilva zone, in small remnants of suitable habitat, sometimes laurisilva forest in ravines near the coast.

Population:

This species is found in a small number of sites, therefore the population size is presumably low.

Habitat and Ecology

This species is found in damp shaded ravines and rocky ledges amongst leaf-litter and mosses extending down to sea level.

Major Threat(s):

This species is affected by declining habitat quality, where there are greater pressures from development as urban areas and the road infrastructure expands. Some non-native species of plants are found in these habitats and the impacts are not known.

Conservation Actions

No specific conservation measures for this species are known however, the species would benefit from habitat monitoring, as a proxy for population monitoring and further survey work to find other small remnants of suitable habitat to establish if the species has a greater distribution.