Cardiophorus vestigialis

Range & Status

Syn. C. erichsoni du Buysson. Restricted to a few coastal sites in south-western Britain.

Regional Distribution

Known from the Lizard Peninsula since 1917. Found on seacliff rock-heath at Lizard Point by K.N.A. Alexander in 1989 and by Ian McClenaghan in 2002; also at Old Lizard Head by Paul Gainey in 2007.

Habitat & Ecology

Thought to develop at the roots of plants in unimproved swards on dry freely-draining soils. The Cornwall sites are sea-cliff grasslands.

Threats

Abandonment of grazing and the conversion of its coastal pasture sites to more productive agricultural swards.

Conservation

Lizard Point is owned by The National Trust.