Description: 8-9.5mm long black ground beetle living among vegetation in marshes and fens, occasionally on bare wet mud of riverbanks and lakeshores.

NI account: Widespread in suitable habitats.

Ecology: Recorded from clayish eutrophic lakeshores, in litter under alder in rich carr or in inter-drumlin fens. Irish material available to us has been examined to see if any of the recent sibling species clarified by Schmidt (1994) are present. Only A. emarginatum was found and is confirmed as a widespread Irish species.

Distribution: A European Wide-temperate species (63) distributed across Europe, except the extreme south and extreme north, possibly to the Caucasus. Formerly known as A. afrum (Duftschmid) and before that as A. moestum (Duftschmid), it belongs to the A. viduum complex of species which has recently been revised by Schmidt (1994). The above range may eventually be extended as its distribution in the east is clarified.

Similar Species: Agonum viduum: upper surface always with at least faint metallic reflection; disk of pronotum shiny A. nigrum/versutum: first antennal segment and tibiae paler, dark rufous A. lugens: upper surface very dull from strong microsculpture; hind angles of pronotum with very small denticles (Fig. 102)

Key Identification Features:

• Medium, pronotum narrower than elytra, hind angles rounded
• Legs long and slender
• Mentum with median tooth (Fig. 103)
• Claws simple
• Elytral intervals convex
• First antennal segment pure black
• Upper surface shiny black, not metallic
• Disk of pronotum less shiny, with obvious microsculpture
• Meta tarsi with deep furrows forming a central ridge (Fig. 76, as viduum)

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

iNaturalist: Agonum emarginatum at iNaturalist World Species Observations database.

GBIF data for Agonum emarginatum | Classification: Insecta, Coleoptera, Carabidae, Agonum

Thumbnails for genus Agonum