Description: A small (5.5-6.5mm) bronze ground beetle with greenish or bluish metallic reflections. Found on saltmarshes and estuaries, where it is often locally common under seaweed and driftwood on the strandline.

NI account: A coastal species and probably found throughout.

Ecology: Halobiontic and thermophilic in sandy or silty saltmarsh environments from the upper middle shore to the Extreme High Water Spring Tide (EHWST).

Distribution: A European Southern-temperate species (83) confined to sea coasts in western and southern Europe, but also known from a few inland saline places in central Europe. Similar forms occur in central Asia.

Similar Species: Pogonus littoralis: anterior transverse impression on pronotum smooth; elytral striae evident to apex (P. luridipennis: elytra and legs pale)

Key Identification Features:

• Sea shore species
• Medium, metallic, diurnal
• Last segment of palpi normal
• Unicolourous metallic
• Anterior transverse depression on pronotum punctate
• Elytral striae fading laterally and apically

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

iNaturalist: Pogonus chalceus at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Pogonus chalceus | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Pogonus

Thumbnails for genus Pogonus