Bordered Bembidion Ground Beetle (Bembidion sublimbatus)  

The Bordered Bembidion Ground Beetle, described in 1877, was obviously restricted to a very small area at the Central High Ridge in the center of Saint Helena, where the species appears to have already been rare when it was first discovered.  

Thomas Vernon Wollaston wrote about it in 1877 (Coleoptera Sanctae-Helenae).:  

“The only spot in which I have met with this extremely rare Bembidium is towards the western extremity of the great central ridge, immediately above the house known as West Lodge, – where, early in February, I took it, on two or three occasions, at the very edge of the tremendous precipice which overlooks the Sandy-Bay crater. It was found beneath damp wood, leaves, and sticks, amongst shrubs of the Aster gummiferus [Commidendrum robustum ssp. gummiferum (Roxb.) Cronk] and common gorse; and, although it may perhaps be more plentiful on the perfectly inaccessible Aster-clothed slopes below (extending from thence to High Peak), my utmost endeavours enabled me to secure only eight or nine specimens; though as both sexes are well represented, this is more than sufficient for all practical purposes.”  

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The most recent field searches in 2008 found the type locality of the species being more or less completely eroded, yet did not produce any trace of the beetle itself, which is thus feared to be extinct.  

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References:  

[1] T. V. Wollaston: Coleoptera Sanctae-Helenae. London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row 1877 
[2] H. Mendel; P. Ashmole; M. Ashmole: Invertebrates of the Central Peaks and Peak Dale, St Helena. 2008

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edited: 30.05.2021