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Wildlife of Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka is home to 21 endemic mammals. Number of terrestrial mammals that have been recorded from the country is 91. Additionally there are 28 marine mammals in the oceans surrounding the island. Being an island Sri Lanka lacks land area to supports large animals. 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. Therefore, the number of endemics could be underestimated. All three endemic genera Solisorex, Feroculus and Srilankamys, of Sri Lanka are monotypic.

The endemic status of two Sri Lankan shrews has undergone changes as they have been reported in India recently. 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. 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. 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.

Endemic mammals

Most endemic mammals are small nocturnal mammals that are seen rarely.

Low vulnerability		Threatened
Least concern Near threatened		Vulnerable Endangered

Order Primate: primates

Name	Species authority	Red List
Family Lorisidae: lorises
Red slender loris	Loris tardigradus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
Toque macaque	Macaca sinica (Linnaeus, 1771)
Purple-faced langur	Trachypithecus vetulus (Erxleben, 1777)

Order Rodentia: rodents

Name	Species authority	Red List
Family Sciuridae: squirrels
Layard's palm squirrel	Funambulus layardi (Blyth, 1849)
Dusky palm squirrel	Funambulus obscurus (Waterhouse, 1838)
Family Muridae: Old World rats and mice
Mayor's mouse	Mus mayori (Thomas, 1915)
Ceylon spiny mouse	Mus fernandoni (Phillips, 1932)
Nillu rat	Rattus montanus Phillips, 1932
Ohiya rat	Srilankamys ohiensis (Phillips, 1929)
Nolthenius's long-tailed climbing mouse	Vandeleuria nolthenii Phillips, 1929

Order Soricomorpha: shrews and moles

Name	Species authority	Red List
Family Soricidae: shrews
Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew	Crocidura miya Phillips, 1929
Sinharaja shrew	Crocidura hikmiya Meegaskumbura, Meegaskumbura, Manamendra-Arachchi, Pethiyagoda, & Schneider, 2007
Pearson's long-clawed shrew	Solisorex pearsoni Thomas, 1924
Jungle shrew	Suncus zeylanicus Phillips, 1928
Sri Lankan shrew	Suncus fellowesgordoni Phillips, 1932

Order Carnivora: carnivorans

Name	Species authority	Red List
Family Viverridae: civets
Golden palm civet	Paradoxurus zeylonensis (Pallas, 1778)
Golden wet zone palm civet	Paradoxurus aureus Cuvier, 1822
Golden dry zone palm civet	Paradoxurus stenocephalus groves et al., 2009
Sri Lanka brown palm civet	Paradoxurus montanus Kelaart, 1852

Order Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates

Name	Species authority	Red List
Family Tragulidae: chevrotains
Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain	Moschiola meminna Erxleben, 1777
Yellow-striped chevrotain	Moschiola kathygre Groves & Meijaard, 2005

References

1. ^ 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. (ed.). 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.
2. 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.
3. "Sri Lanka lowland rain forests". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
4. "Conservation action and protected areas". biodiversityhotspots.org. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
5. "Unique and threatened biodiversity". biodiversityhotspots.org. Conservation International. Archived from the original on 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
6. 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. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1665.1.2.
7. ^ 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. (ed.). 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.
8. 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.
9. Gamage, S.N.; Nekaris, K.A.I.; Rudran, R. (2020). "Loris tardigradus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T12375A17970163. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T12375A17970163.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
10. Dittus, W.; Watson, A.C. (2020). "Macaca sinica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T12560A17951229. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T12560A17951229.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
11. Rudran, R.; Dittus, W.; Gamage, S.N.; Nekaris, K.A.I. (2020). "Semnopithecus vetulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22042A17959452. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T22042A17959452.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
12. de A. Goonatilake, W.L.D.P.T.S. (2016). "Funambulus layardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T8700A22260033. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T8700A22260033.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
13. Middleton, K.; Dando, T. (2020). "Funambulus obscurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T88814157A88814203. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T88814157A88814203.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
14. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Mus mayori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.{{cite iucn}}: old-form url (help)
15. de A. Goonatilake, W.L.D.P.T.S. (2019). "Mus fernandoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T13961A22404354. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T13961A22404354.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
16. de Alwis Goonatilake, S. (2019). "Rattus montanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T19348A22443205. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T19348A22443205.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
17. Dando, T.; Kennerley, R. (2019). "Srilankamys ohiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T20688A22409849. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T20688A22409849.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
18. Dando, T. (2019). "Vandeleuria nolthenii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T22844A22430744. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22844A22430744.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
19. Dando, T.; Kennerley, R. (2019). "Crocidura miya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T5608A22298694. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T5608A22298694.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
20. Meegaskumbura, S.; Meegaskumbura, M. (2008). "Crocidura hikmiya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008: e.T136596A4316355. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T136596A4316355.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
21. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Solisorex pearsoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.{{cite iucn}}: old-form url (help)
22. Dando, T.; Kennerley, R. (2019). "Suncus zeylanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T21148A22289100. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T21148A22289100.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
23. de A. Goonatilake, W.L.D.P.T.S. (2020). "Suncus fellowesgordoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21143A22289813. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T21143A22289813.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
24. Duckworth, J.W.; Mudappa, D.; Pethiyagoda, R.; Woolgar, J.; de Silva Wijeyeratne, G.; Hall, J. (2016). "Paradoxurus zeylonensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T41694A45218119. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T41694A45218119.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
25. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus aureus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.{{cite iucn}}: old-form url (help)
26. Dando, T.; Kennerley, R. (2019). "Suncus zeylanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T21148A22289100. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T21148A22289100.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
27. de A. Goonatilake, W.L.D.P.T.S. (2020). "Suncus fellowesgordoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T21143A22289813. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T21143A22289813.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
28. Duckworth, J.W.; Timmins, R. (2015). "Moschiola meminna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T41779A73575223. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T41779A73575223.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
29. Duckworth, J.W.; Timmins, R. (2015). "Moschiola kathygre". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T136799A61979620. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T136799A61979620.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.

• Mammals of Sri Lanka
• Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka
• Lists of biota of Sri Lanka
• Lists of mammals of Asia
• Lists of mammals by country