Description: Small (3.5-4mm), bronze-black burrowing ground beetle. Coastal species, mainly burrowing in silts and muds of estuaries and saltmarshes at the top end of the shore.

NI account: A coastal species which though widespread is very local.

Ecology: Halobiontic and associated with clayish or fine-sand saltmarsh banks. At Murlough National Nature Reserve, which has D. impunctipennis and D. salinus together in a small saltmarsh area, there is a clear division in habitat preference. D. salinus has been collected on vegetated, very fine, clayish sand in the main body of the saltmarsh, whereas D. impunctipennis is restricted to small areas of pure, fine sand on the steep banks of saltmarsh runnels.

Distribution: A European Wide-temperate species (63) found along the coasts in Europe to north Africa and east to Kirghizia. Also at saline places inland.

Similar Species: D. luedersi: posterior limit of clypeus angulate (Fig. 25) (D. aeneus: posterior margin of clypeus angulate)

Key Identification Features:

• Brassy, elongate, cylindrical and with a 'waist'
• Fore legs adapted for digging
• Clypeus without a median tooth (Fig. 23)
• Pro-tibia with a strong subapical spur at base of main spur (Fig. 24)
• Posterior limit of clypeus straight (Fig. 26)

Distribution Map from NBN: Dyschirius salinus at National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

iNaturalist: Dyschirius salinus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Dyschirius salinus | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Dyschirius

Thumbnails for genus Dyschirius