Xerophile Saint Helena Weevil (Xestophasis xerophilus)

The Xerophile Saint Helena Weevil was described in 1972; it is endemic to the island of Saint Helena, where again it is restricted to the Prosperous Bay Plain, usually in association with its food plant, the Samphire (Suaeda fruticosa Forssk. ex J. F. Gmel.).

The species was found to be extremely localized in its distribution in the 1960s and was not recorded during the last field surveys in the 2000s; it may indeed be extinct now. [2]

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References:

[1] Philip Ashmole; Myrtle Ashmole: The invertebrates of Prosperous Bay Plain, St Helena. September – December 2003. Commissioned by the St Helena Government and financed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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edited: 30.05.2021