List of endemic mammals of Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka is home to 21 endemic mammals.[1] Number of terrestrial mammals that have been recorded from the country is 91.[2] Additionally there are 28 marine mammals in the oceans surrounding the island. Being an island Sri Lanka lacks land area to supports large animals.[3] However fossil evidence of large archaic species of rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and lions have been discovered. The flora and fauna of Sri Lanka is mostly
understudied.[4] Therefore, the number of endemics could be underestimated. All three endemic genera Solisorex, Feroculus and Srilankamys, of Sri Lanka are monotypic.[5]
The endemic status of two Sri Lankan shrews has undergone changes as they have been reported in India recently.[1] The Kelaart's long-clawed shrew (Feroculus feroculus) and the Sri Lanka highland shrew (Suncus montanus) were recorded from southern India. At the same time taxonomic revisions have indicated that the flame-striped jungle squirrel (Funambulus layardi), the red slender loris (Loris tardigradus) and two species of mouse deer, Moschiola meminna and M. kathygre are endemic to Sri Lanka. That leaves the number of endemic mammals in Sri Lanka at 16. Meanwhile, a group of researchers have described a new shrew species Crocidura hikmiya from the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in 2007.[6] The discovery leads to increase the ultimate number of endemics to 21 at present.
For Sri Lanka, small mammals are of special importance as they constitute a notable portion of the mammalian fauna of the country.[7] Of the 91 species of mammals. recorded in the country, 31 are rodents and shrews. Furthermore, they are also of significant importance in biological point of view, as they make up largely to the country's endemic faunal component. The endemic small mammals include six rodents and four shrews. Many of these endemic species are found in fragmented rainforests in southwestern Sri Lanka which are highly vulnerable to habitat destruction. As a result, many of these species have been categorised as threatened or endangered at national level.[7]
Contents
1 Endemic mammals
1.1 Order Primate: primates
1.2 Order Rodentia: rodents
1.3 Order Soricomorpha: shrews and moles
1.4 Order Carnivora: carnivorans
1.5 Order Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates
2 References
Endemic mammals
Most endemic mammals are small nocturnal mammals that are seen rarely.[8]
| Low vulnerability | Threatened | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Order Primate: primates
| Name | Species authority | Red List |
|---|---|---|
Family Lorisidae: lorises | ||
Red slender loris | Loris tardigradus (Linnaeus, 1758) |  [9] |
Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys | ||
Toque macaque
| Macaca sinica (Linnaeus, 1771) | [10] |
| Purple-faced langur | Trachypithecus vetulus (Erxleben, 1777) | [11] |
Order Rodentia: rodents
| Name | Species authority | Red List |
|---|---|---|
Family Sciuridae: squirrels | ||
| Layard's palm squirrel | Funambulus layardi (Blyth, 1849) |  [12] |
| Dusky palm squirrel | Funambulus obscurus (Waterhouse, 1838) | [13] |
Family Muridae: Old World rats and mice | ||
| Mayor's mouse | Mus mayori (Thomas, 1915) | [14] |
| Ceylon spiny mouse | Mus fernandoni (Phillips, 1932) | [15] |
| Nillu rat | Rattus montanus Phillips, 1932 | [16] |
| Ohiya rat | Srilankamys ohiensis (Phillips, 1929) | [17] |
| Nolthenius's long-tailed climbing mouse | Vandeleuria nolthenii Phillips, 1929 | [18] |
Order Soricomorpha: shrews and moles
| Name | Species authority | Red List |
|---|---|---|
Family Soricidae: shrews | ||
| Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew | Crocidura miya Phillips, 1929 | [19] |
| Sinharaja shrew | Crocidura hikmiya Meegaskumbura, Meegaskumbura, Manamendra-Arachchi, Pethiyagoda, & Schneider, 2007 | [20] |
| Pearson's long-clawed shrew | Solisorex pearsoni Thomas, 1924 | [21] |
| Jungle shrew | Suncus zeylanicus Phillips, 1928 | [22] |
| Sri Lankan shrew | Suncus fellowesgordoni Phillips, 1932 | [23] |
Order Carnivora: carnivorans
| Name | Species authority | Red List |
|---|---|---|
Family Viverridae: civets | ||
| Golden palm civet | Paradoxurus zeylonensis (Pallas, 1778) | [24] |
| Golden wet zone palm civet | Paradoxurus aureus Cuvier, 1822 | [25] |
| Golden dry zone palm civet | Paradoxurus stenocephalus groves et al., 2009 | [26] |
| Sri Lanka brown palm civet | Paradoxurus montanus Kelaart, 1852 | [27] |
Order Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates
| Name | Species authority | Red List |
|---|---|---|
Family Tragulidae: chevrotains | ||
| Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain | Moschiola meminna Erxleben, 1777 |  [28] |
| Yellow-striped chevrotain | Moschiola kathygre Groves & Meijaard, 2005 | [29] |
References
^ ab Weerakoon, D. K.; de A. Goonatilake, W. L. D. P. T. S. (2006). "Taxonomic Status of the Mammals of Sri Lanka". In Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation (PDF). The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. pp. 216–231. ISBN 955-8177-51-2..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ The 2007 Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora of Sri Lanka (PDF). Colombo, Sri Lanka: IUCN Sri Lanka and Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. 2007. ISBN 978-955-8177-63-1. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
^ "Sri Lanka lowland rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
^ "Conservation action and protected areas". biodiversityhotspots.org. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
^ "Unique and threatened biodiversity". biodiversityhotspots.org. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
^ Meegaskumbura, Suyama; Meegaskumbura, Madhava; Pethiyagoda, Rohan; Manamendra-Arachchi, Kelum & Schneider, Christopher J. (2007). "Crocidura hikmiya, a new shrew (Mammalia: Soricomorpha: Soricidae) from Sri Lanka" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1665: 19–30.
^ ab Wijesinghe, Mayuri R. (2006). "Ecological Traits of Endemic Small Mammals in Rainforests of Sri Lanka, and Their Implications for Conservation". In Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation (PDF). The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. pp. 232–234. ISBN 955-8177-51-2.
^ Wijeyeratne, Gehan de Silva (2008). "Endemic mammals". A photographic guide to Mammals of Sri Lanka (1st ed.). London: New Holland Publishers. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-84773-142-5.
^ Nekaris, A. (2008). "Loris tardigradus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Dittus, W.; Watson, A. & Molur, S. (2008). "Macaca sinica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Dittus, W.; Molur, S. & Nekaris, A. (2008). "Trachypithecus vetulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Funambulus layardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Rajamani, N.; Molur, S. & Nameer, P.O. (2008). "Funambulus obscurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Mus mayori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Mus fernandoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S. & Molur, S. (2008). "Rattus montanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Srilankamys ohiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Vandeleuria nolthenii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S. & Molur, S. (2008). "Crocidura miya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Meegaskumbura, S. & Meegaskumbura, M. (2008). "Crocidura hikmiya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Solisorex pearsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Suncus zeylanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Suncus fellowesgordoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Muddappa, D.; Wozencraft, C.; Yonzon, P.; Jennings, A. & Veron, G. (2008). "Paradoxurus zeylonensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus aureus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus stenocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus montanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). "Moschiola meminna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
^ Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). "Moschiola kathygre". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
