A single specimen of Ophonus melletii (Heer) was swept from stands of golden samphire Inula crithmoides in the upper splash zone of the rocky sea cliffs of Dinas Head on the exposed western side of Trevose Head in the civil parish of St Merryn on the north Cornish coast (SW8476, VC 1), 1 August 2017. Interestingly Blair (1931) reported finding one 'under a stone' at St Merryn in 1925, suggesting that a population had survived in this area for over 90 years before it was detected once again. Although known from six hectads in the county this is the first record since 1981 when David Sheppard (1986) recorded it from maritime heath on Predannack Cliffs during his survey project on the invertebrates of the Lizard heaths. Although this site lies within the Trevose Head and Constantine Bay SSSI, the citation does not acknowledge any invertebrate interest. The species has been assessed as Near Threatened in Britain (Telfer, 2016) and so all new records are worthy of publication, and especially those with habitat details.
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