Legacy observations of the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) in Belgium

Occurrence
Latest version published by Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) on Apr 29, 2025 Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
Publication date:
29 April 2025
License:
CC0 1.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 924 records in English (43 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (12 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (12 KB)

Description

This dataset contains historical records of the stag beetle (Lucanus cervus) compiled from various sources, including literature, private and public collections, own field work, legacy databases, personal communications, and archives. The records primarily date from periods before the widespread use of digital recording platforms and provide valuable insights into the historical distribution of the species in Belgium. The database was set up in 2004 and seased in 2016 when digital recording platforms (e.g. waarnemingen.be and inaturalist.com) made these kind of databases obsolete. Where available, observations include location, date, source, and observer information. Data quality varies depending on the origin, but all records have been validated at the species level.

When the precise location was known dwc_coordinateUncertaintyInMeters was set to 100m. If only dwc_municipality or a larger forest complex was known, dwc_coordinateUncertaintyInMeters was set to 5000m.

In dwc_occurrenceRemarks:

REC: recorder: person who found or collected the specimen

DET: determinator: person who identified the specimen

AUCT: auctor: person or organisation who owns the specimen or transefered the data to INBO and/or literature reference from which the data was compiled

Besides records encoded by INBO itself, the data contains records that were copied from other databases with permission to publish them at GBIF. Records labbeled with one of the following AUCT (dwc:collectionCode) come from these databases:

BIM: Occurrence data compiled by Leefmilieu Brussel - Environnement Bruxelles

Cammaerts R: Occurrence data compiled by Roger Cammaerts

coll. IRSNB/KBIN: Collection data at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science

coll. M.Zool.ULg: Collection data at the Museum Zoology ULiege Gembloux

coll. ULB: Collection data at the Muséum de Zoologie et d’Anthropologie

DEMNA: Occurrence data compiled by Département de l’Etude du milieu naturel et agricole;

FSAGX fiches: Database on paper fiches of the Museum Zoology ULiege Gembloux

Museum voor Dierkunde Gent: Collection data at the Ghent University Museum & Botanical Garden

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 924 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO). To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 90f7eef9-1099-4e64-b9ab-e1858b7cb5b2.  Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.

Keywords

Occurrence

Contacts

Arno Thomaes
  • Originator
  • Point Of Contact
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
  • Gaverstraat 4
9400 Geraardsbergen
BE
Roger Cammaerts
Thierry Kervyn
  • Originator
Département de l'Etude du Milieu naturel et agricole (DEMNA)
  • Avenue de la Faculté d’Agronomie, 22
5030 Gembloux
BE
Olivier Beck
  • Originator
Leefmilieu.Brussels
  • Tour & Taxis, Havenlaan 86C/3000
1000 Brussels
BE
Dimitri Brosens
  • Originator
Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO)
BE

Geographic Coverage

All data comes from Belgium or neighbouring countries but close to the Belgian border

Bounding Coordinates South West [49.495, 2.879], North East [51.291, 6.409]

Taxonomic Coverage

All data refers to the European stag beetle (Lucanus cervus).

Species Lucanus cervus (Linnaeus, 1758) (European stag beetle)

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 1850-01-01 / 2016-07-17

Collection Data

Collection Name coll. IRSNB/KBIN: Collection data at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science
Collection Identifier INV-INS
Parent Collection Identifier RBINS
Collection Name coll. M.Zool.ULg: Collection data at the Museum Zoology ULiege Gembloux
Collection Name coll. ULB: Collection data at the Muséum de Zoologie et d’Anthropologie
Collection Name Museum voor Dierkunde Gent: Collection data at the Ghent University Museum & Botanical Garden

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Thomaes, A., Cammaerts, R., Kervyn, T., Beck, O. & Crèvecoeur, L. 2010. Distribution and site preferences of the stag beetle Lucanus cervus in Belgium (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Bulletin de la Société Royale Belge d'Entomologie, 146: 33-46
  2. Thomaes, A., Beck. O., Crèvecoeur, L., Engelbeen, M., Cammaerts, R. & Maes, D. 2007. Het Vliegend hert in Vlaanderen en in het Brussels Gewest: Verspreiding en ecologie van een ‘bos’soort. Natuur.focus, 6(3): 76-82
  3. Thomaes, A., Kervyn, T., Beck O. & Cammaerts, R. 2008. Distribution of Lucanus cervus in Belgium: surviving in a changing landscape (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Revue d'Ecologie (Terre & Vie), 63:139-144
  4. Thomaes, A., Kervyn, T. & Maes, D. 2008. Applying species distribution modelling for the conservation of the threatened saproxylic Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus). Biological conservation, 141: 1400-1410

Additional Metadata

Data was used in the following papers: Thomaes, A., Beck. O., Crèvecoeur, L., Engelbeen, M., Cammaerts, R. & Maes, D. 2007. Het Vliegend hert in Vlaanderen en in het Brussels Gewest: Verspreiding en ecologie van een ‘bos’soort. Natuur.focus, 6(3): 76-82 Thomaes, A., Kervyn, T., Beck O. & Cammaerts, R. 2008. Distribution of Lucanus cervus in Belgium: surviving in a changing landscape (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Revue d'Ecologie (Terre & Vie), 63:139-144 Thomaes, A., Kervyn, T. & Maes, D. 2008. Applying species distribution modelling for the conservation of the threatened saproxylic Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus). Biological conservation, 141: 1400-1410

Alternative Identifiers 90f7eef9-1099-4e64-b9ab-e1858b7cb5b2
https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=stag-beetles-legacy