CreatureData

Coal-runner

Pterostichus melanarius (Illiger, 1798)

Status not recordedbeetles

The coal-runner (Pterostichus melanarius) is a species in the family Carabidae, order Coleoptera. Recorded adults reach 1.9 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 29 countries, including Albania, Austria and Belarus.

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Quick facts about the coal-runner

Weight
Not recorded
Length
1.2 cm – 1.9 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Invertivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
29 countriessrc for Countries on record

How big is the coal-runner?

COAL-RUNNER · LENGTH 1.9 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.9 cm, the recorded maximum length of the coal-runner is about 1.1% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What does the coal-runner eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the coal-runner

The 24 best supported of 55 on record

  1. Bembidion lampros3 sources
  2. Javesella pellucida2 sources
  3. Oak spider Aculepeira ceropegia2 sources
  4. Gorse orbweaver Agalenatea redii2 sources
  5. Rumble-backed Sunshiner Amara eurynota2 sources
  6. Social sun beetle Amara familiaris2 sources
  7. Mesophile Sunshiner Amara lunicollis2 sources
  8. Amara montivaga2 sources
  9. Amara ovata2 sources
  10. Narrow-dimpled Sunshiner Amara similata2 sources
  11. Amara quenseli2 sources
  12. Amara plebeja2 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Anchomenus dorsalis2 sources
  2. Anisodactylus binotatus2 sources
  3. Cucumber green spider Araniella cucurbitina2 sources
  4. Darkface slug Arion distinctus2 sources
  5. Dusky slug Arion subfuscus2 sources
  6. Asaphidion flavipes2 sources
  7. Asaphidion pallipes2 sources
  8. Silver leafhopper Athysanus argentarius2 sources
  9. Badister bullatus2 sources
  10. Bembidion properans2 sources
  11. Cassida panzeri2 sources
  12. Green thistle beetle Cassida rubiginosa2 sources

Recorded predators of the coal-runner

6 on record

  1. Allagelena gracilens2 sources
  2. Gorse orbweaver Agalenatea redii2 sources
  3. Carabus auratus2 sources
  4. Cucumber green spider Araniella cucurbitina2 sources
  5. Granulated ground beetle Carabus granulatus2 sources
  6. Cricket bat spider Mangora acalypha2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records

Where does the coal-runner live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The coal-runner is listed for 29 countries.

CanadaKazakhstanFranceSwedenBelarusUkrainePolandAustriaHungaryRomaniaLithuaniaLatviaEstoniaGermanyBulgariaGreeceAlbaniaCroatiaSwitzerlandBelgiumSpainIrelandItalyDenmarkGeorgiaSloveniaFinlandSlovakiaMacedonia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Albania
  2. Austria
  3. Belarus
  4. Belgium
  5. Bulgaria
  6. Canada
  7. Croatia
  8. Denmark
  9. Estonia
  10. Finland
  11. France
  12. Georgia
  13. Germany
  14. Greece
  15. Hungary
  16. Ireland
  17. Italy
  18. Kazakhstan
  19. Latvia
  20. Lithuania
  21. North Macedonia
  22. Poland
  23. Romania
  24. Slovakia
  25. Slovenia
  26. Spain
  27. Sweden
  28. Switzerland
  29. Ukraine

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: CarabCat (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the coal-runner as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Canada
  2. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the coal-runner endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the coal-runner classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderColeoptera
  5. familyCarabidae
  6. genusPterostichus
  7. SpeciesPterostichus melanarius (Illiger, 1798)

Synonyms Carabus melanarius, Carabus vulgaris, Feronia melanaria, Morphnosoma vulgare, Omaseidius melanarius, Omaseidius vulgaris, Omaseus melanarius, Platysma melanarium, Platysma vulgare

Other names and names in other languages (20)
  • Rain beetleEnglish
  • Rain-beetleEnglish
  • MarkjordløberDanish
  • Almindelig muldløberDanish
  • Gemeiner GrabkäferGerman
  • Gemeiner GrabläuferGerman
  • Põllu-süsijooksikEstonian
  • aitosysikiitäjäinenFinnish
  • Carabe noir des jardinsFrench
  • Közönséges gyászfutóHungarian
  • Paprastasis SmiltžygisLithuanian
  • GrafloperDutch
  • Gewone streeploopkeverDutch
  • Gewone zwartschildDutch
  • Pikzwarte kelderloopkeverDutch
  • Szykoń ciemnyPolish
  • Птеростих ОбыкновенныйRussian
  • utekáčik obyčajnýSlovak
  • åkersvartlöpareSwedish
  • птеростих звичайнийUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidata

Relatives of the coal-runner

Other species in the same genus Pterostichus.

CompareCoal-runner vs Spring BlackclockCoal-runner vs Bronzed BlackclockCoal-runner vs Upland BlackclockCoal-runner vs Ebony Blackclock

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the coal-runner?

An adult coal-runner measures 1.2 cm – 1.9 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the coal-runner live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the coal-runner for 29 countries, including Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium and Bulgaria. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the coal-runner an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the coal-runner as introduced in 2 countries: Canada and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the coal-runner?

The coal-runner (Pterostichus melanarius) belongs to the family Carabidae in the order Coleoptera.

What eats the coal-runner?

Animals recorded preying on the coal-runner include allagelena gracilens, gorse orbweaver, carabus auratus and cucumber green spider. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the coal-runner eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the coal-runner include bembidion lampros, javesella pellucida, oak spider and gorse orbweaver. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Coal-runner (Pterostichus melanarius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/coal-runner

MLA

“Coal-runner (Pterostichus melanarius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/coal-runner.

BibTeX
@misc{coal_runner_2026,
  title = {Coal-runner (Pterostichus melanarius)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/coal-runner},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}