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Udawalawe National Park lies on the boundary of Sabaragamuwa and Uva Provinces, in Sri Lanka. The national park was created to provide a sanctuary for wild animals displaced by the construction of the Udawalawe Reservoir on the Walawe River, as well as to protect the catchment of the reservoir. The reserve covers 30,821 hectares (119.00 sq mi) of land area and was established on 30 June 1972. Before the designation of the national park, the area was used for shifting cultivation. The farmers were gradually removed once the national park was declared. The park is 165 kilometres (103 mi) from Colombo. Udawalawe is an important habitat for water birds and Sri Lankan elephants. It is a popular tourist destination and the third most visited park in the country.
The Sri Lankan junglefowl, also known as the Ceylon junglefowl or Lafayette's junglefowl, is a member of the Galliformes bird order which is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it is the national bird. It is closely related to the red junglefowl, the wild junglefowl from which the chicken was domesticated. However, a whole-genome molecular study rather show that Sri Lankan junglefowl and grey junglefowl are genetically sister species than with the red junglefowl. Sri Lankan junglefowl and red junglefowl diverged about 2.8 million years ago whereas, time of divergence between the Sri Lankan junglefowl and grey junglefowl was 1.8 million years ago.
The golden palm civet is a palm civet endemic to Sri Lanka. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Its distribution is severely fragmented, and the extent and quality of its habitat in Sri Lanka's hill regions are declining.
The ruddy mongoose is a mongoose species native to hill forests in India and Sri Lanka. This mongoose, along with the striped-neck and Indian grey mongeese, are the only mongoose species endemic to India and Sri Lanka. The ruddy mongoose is very closely related to Indian grey mongoose, but distinguished by its slightly larger size and black-tipped tail extending for 2 to 3 inches at the distal end. There are two subspecies of this mongoose, H. smithii smithii in India, and H. smithii zeylanicus in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka montane rain forests is an ecoregion found above 1,000 m in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. Owing to their rich biodiversity, this region considered a super-hotspot within the endemism hotspot of global importance. These forests are cooler than lowland forests and therefore they have ideal conditions for growth of cloud forests. These forests classifications tropical sub montane forest, tropical sub-montane and tropical upper montane. Half of Sri Lanka's endemic flowering plants and 51 percent of the endemic vertebrates are restricted to these forests. More than 34 percent of Sri Lanka's endemic trees, shrubs, and herbs can only be found in this ecoregion. Twisted, stunted trees are a common sight in these forests, together with many varieties of orchids, mosses and ferns. The trees of montane rain forests grow to a height 10–15 meters, shorter than the lowland rain forest trees. These high altitude forests are the catchment area for most of Sri Lanka's major rivers.
Indosylvirana aurantiaca, commonly known as the golden frog, is a species of frog endemic to the Western Ghats of India. The species is also known as the Trivandrum frog, the common wood frog, or the small wood frog.
Labeo lankae is a species of cyprinid fish. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.
Wildlife of Sri Lanka includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of biological endemism in the world.
Ariophantidae is a taxonomic family of air-breathing land snails and semi-slugs, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the superfamily Helicarionoidea.
The Sri Lanka lowland rain forests represents Sri Lanka's Tropical rainforests below 1,000 m (3,281 ft) in elevation in the southwestern part of the island. The year-around warm, wet climate together with thousands years of isolation from mainland India have resulted in the evolution of numerous plants and animal species that can only be found in rain forests in Sri Lanka. The thick forest canopy is made up of over 150 species of trees, some of the emergent layer reaching as high as 45 m (148 ft). The lowland rain forests accounts for 2.14 percent of Sri Lanka's land area. This ecoregion is the home of the jungle shrew, a small endemic mammal of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has the highest density of amphibian species worldwide. Many of these, including 250 species of tree frogs, live in these rain forests.
Mariaella beddomei is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae.
Lahugala Kitulana National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Sri Lanka. Despite its land area, the park is an important habitat for Sri Lankan elephant and endemic birds of Sri Lanka. The national park contains the reservoirs of Lahugala, Kitulana and Sengamuwa and they are ultimately empties to Heda Oya river. Originally it was designated as a wildlife sanctuary on July 1 of 1966. Then the protected area was upgraded to a national park on October 31 of 1980. Lahugala Kitulana is situated 318 km east of Colombo.
Minneriya National Park is a national park in North Central Province of Sri Lanka. The area was designated as a national park on 12 August 1997, having been originally declared as a wildlife sanctuary in 1938. The reason for declaring the area as protected is to protect the catchment of Minneriya tank and the wildlife of the surrounding area. The tank is of historical importance, having been built by King Mahasen in third century AD. The park is a dry season feeding ground for the elephant population dwelling in forests of Matale, Polonnaruwa, and Trincomalee districts. The park earned revenue of Rs. 10.7 million in the six months ending in August 2009. Along with Kaudulla and Girithale, Minneriya forms one of the 70 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Sri Lanka. The park is situated 182 kilometres (113 mi) from Colombo.
Wanniyala agrabopath, is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Agrabopath Forest, Agrapatana, hence the specific name.
Wanniyala hakgala is a species of spider of the genus Wanniyala. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. The species was described with a male found from Hakgala area, hence the specific name.
Ratnadvipia is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Ariophantidae. These snails are endemic to highly fragmented rain forests of Sri Lanka. Sometimes they extend into the dry zones of the island and occasionally found around home gardens.
Ravana politissima is a species of air-breathing land slug, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae. It is a monotypic genus, which is endemic to island of Sri Lanka. They are considered as endangered due to habitat destruction.
Ratnadvipia irradians is a species of air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Ariophantidae. It is endemic to island of Sri Lanka.
Indosylvirana serendipi, or the Sri Lankan golden-backed frog, is a species of frog in the family Ranidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.
References
- ↑ "The Sri Lankan endemic semi-slug Ratnadvipia (Limacoidea: Ariophantidae) and a new species from southwestern Sri Lanka". Systematics and Biodiversity 4(1):99-126. Retrieved 2 November 2016.