Global and European regional assessment: Near Threatened (NT)
EU 27 regional assessment: Near Threatened (NT)

This is a rare species in most of its range but with an unclear distribution due to misidentification. The known area of occupancy is 1,088 km², with a real distribution probably below the 2,000 km² threshold for consideration as threatened, and its habitat is continually declining. It is therefore assessed as Near Threatened, both globally and in the EU 27 region, as it is close to qualifying as Vulnerable under criterion B2. The species is considered to be threatened in many national Red Lists and its subpopulations are assessed to be in decline, but the causes are not fully understood. It prefers large rotten conifer wood but can also uses broadleaved trees and trunks of smaller diameter. It is considered a relict of primeval forests in central Europe but this is not confirmed in France. It most probably prefers shady and fresh forests, a habitat largely available in Europe. It is therefore unclear why this species is so rare in central Europe. More research on the distribution, ecology, habitat preference and threats is needed.

This species is endemic to Europe, where it occurs from the Pyrénées (northern Spain and southern France) to eastern Poland. However, many observations are confusions with the related species, Ampedus elongatulus, and the exact distribution of A. melanurus is unclear for many areas.

In Italy it is only present on the mainland. It was confirmed recently in Switzerland where a few observations exist in the Alps and one in the Jura Mountains (Chittaro and Blanc 2012). In the Iberian Peninsula, it occurs only in three localities of northern Spain, in the Pyrénées. A unique report from Portugal, in the central part of the country (Aguiar and Serrano 1995), was discarded (Recalde Irurzun and San Martín Moreno 2014, Zapata de la Vega and Sánchez Ruiz 2022).

Three records from Ukraine (iNaturalist 2023) are based on specimen pictures that are not detailed enough, and probably refer to another Ampedus species. Its presence in Greece is uncertain, and one indication from the Netherlands is to be confirmed (GBIF 2023).

The species is not listed from Hungary (Merkl and Mertlik 2005, Németh and Merkl 2009).

This species is rare throughout its range except in France where it is well distributed, mostly in the mountains (GBIF 2023). In central Europe it has a scattered distribution. The populations are fragmented and remote in most of the species' range.

In Italy there are only six records. In Czechia it is rare with only a few sites. In Slovakia it is localised and scattered throughout the country (Laibner 2000). In Germany it its very rare and is present in six states (http://www.colkat.de/de/fhl/). In Austria the species as first discovered around 2001. In Switzerland, about ten locations are known (Chittaro and Blanc 2012, Info Fauna 2023). They have all been discovered recently, most of them through the use of traps, so it is not possible to assess any evolution over time.

In Poland it is present in the south-eastern part only.

Populations were assessed to be in decline in Italy, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland.

This is an obligate saproxylic species. It lives in conifer and mixed forests from the highlands to the montane zone, largely confined to Abies, Picea and Pinus sylvestris. It is occasionally cited from Quercus and Fagus (Laibner 2000, Sanchez et al. 2018). Sometimes is is considered to be associated with old-growth forests but this is not necessarily the case. In Austria, and in central Europe after Eckelt et al. (2017), it is considered a primeval forest relict, linked with cool shady conditions. The larvae is probably a predator and saproxylophagous in highly rotten wood of large diameters (> 35cm) (Sanchez et al. 2018).

Populations were assessed to be in decline in Italy, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland but the reasons for this are not known. The decrease in the availability of dead wood in managed forests is probably the major threat but climatic conditions may be involved, such as severe and repeated droughts, as the species is associated with fresh and humid micro-habitats.

Saproxylic Coleoptera tend to be popular with beetle collectors although trade is rarely an issue, the only exceptions being a few larger species of more dramatic form or colour.

More research on this species' habitat preferences and the threats causing its decline is needed.

This species is listed as Critically Endangered in Czechia (Farkač 2005) and Germany ("Threatened with Extinction" 2021), and Vulnerable in Italy (Audisio et al. 2014), Slovakia and Poland (2002). In France, the species is Near Threatened in the regional Red List of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Dodelin and Calmont 2021).