Azorean predacious diving beetle vs Common Stonewort

Agabus godmanni compared with Chara vulgaris

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Azorean predacious diving beetle	Common Stonewort
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Charophyta (Charophyta)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Charales (Charales)
Family	Dytiscidae	Characeae
Genus	Agabus	Chara
Species	Agabus godmanni	Chara vulgaris

Conservation Status

Azorean predacious diving beetle

EN — Endangered

Common Stonewort

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Azorean predacious diving beetle	Common Stonewort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Azorean predacious diving beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in Portugal. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Stonewort

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Azorean predacious diving beetle

The Azorean predacious diving beetle (Agabus godmanni) is a species in the genus Agabus. It is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Common Stonewort

<em>Chara vulgaris</em>, the common stonewort, is a species of charophyte green alga in the family Characeae, order Charales. It typically grows submerged in freshwater habitats including ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams, often forming dense mats on the substrate. The species has a broad geographic distribution spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas, tolerating a range of water conditions from clear to moderately turbid. <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is notable for its heavily calcified, whorled structure that gives stoneworts their characteristic encrusted appearance and makes them valuable as paleoclimate indicators in sediment records. As a primary producer, it contributes to aquatic food webs and provides habitat for invertebrates and juvenile fish. Biological traits such as individual lifespan, precise growth rates, and specific consumer relationships remain poorly documented in the literature. Despite its wide range, <em>Chara vulgaris</em> is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, reflecting significant population declines attributed to freshwater pollution, eutrophication, and habitat degradation across much of its range. Targeted conservation of clean, oligotrophic water bodies is essential for its persistence.