Species

BackLeipaspis pinicola Wollaston, 1862

Leipaspis pinicola Wollaston, 1862

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Family: Trogositidae
EN Endangered
IUCN Red List Status:

Countries of Occurrence:
Spain - Canaries

Archipelago(s):
Canaries

Assessor/s:
Bahillo, P. & Mico, E.

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

Contributor/s:

Facilitators / Compilers/s:


Assessment Rationale:

 European regional assessment: listed as Endangered (B2ab(iii)) because this species has a relatively small range (area of occupancy less than 500 km²), it is only known from four localities and it occupies pine woodland, a habitat type which is threatened by forest management in the Canary islands and fires.


EU 27 regional assessment: listed as Endangered (B2ab(iii)) because this species has a relatively small range (area of occupancy less than 500 km²), it is only known from four localities and it occupies pine woodland, a habitat type which is threatened by forest management in the Canary islands and fires.

Geographic Range:

This species is only known from Canary Islands, Spain. Present in four islands: La Palma, Hierro, Tenerife and Gran Canaria (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:
(m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
(m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Paleartic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Canaries
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

There is little information available on the abundance of this species. Plata-Negrache and Prendes-Ayala (1981) recorded only two specimens, one from La Palma and the other one from El Hierro; it does not seem to be a very abundant species. Known from four islands, only four localities known (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009).

Habitat and Ecology

This is an obligate saproxylic species. Pine forests, under the dead bark of fallen trees and branches, where it feeds on other xylophagous insects (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009). 

Major Threat(s):

Pine forests in the Canary Islands are managed for forestry, so it is possible that the species gets negatively affected if dead trees or large branches are removed from the forest as a part of the 'cleaning' management (P. Bahillo de la Puebla pers. comm. 2009). Forest fires are also a threat.

Conservation Actions

Not present in the Red Book of Invertebrates of Spain (Verdú and Galante 2006). It is found in at least one protected area.