The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.
Range & Status
A south-western coastal species recorded from Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and
Pembrokeshire. Foster (1990) provides a national distribution map.
Regional Distribution
Recorded from The Lizard in 1921 by J.H. Keys and Whitsand Bay in 1912 by T.J.
Willcocks. This is a difficult species to locate, and although there are no modern records for Cornwall, it may still survive at suitable localities around the Cornish coast.
Habitat & Ecology
Restricted to small seepages and trickles on and at the base of coastal cliffs, most
commonly on sandstone substrates.
Threats
Pollution of water courses, perhaps through agricultural run off or tourist developments. Sea defence schemes or stabilisation of cliffs.
Conservation
Some sections of the Whitsand Bay cliffs are under the ownership of The National Trust and most of the Lizard cliffs are SSSI. This species is listed on the UK BAP Priority Species list (2007).
I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.
The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.