List of endemic mammals of Sri Lanka

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]

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Wildlife of Sri Lanka

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]

Endemic mammals

Most endemic mammals are small nocturnal mammals that are seen rarely.[8]

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)
[9]
Family Cercopithecidae: Old World monkeys
Toque macaque

Macaca sinica
(Linnaeus, 1771)
[10]
Purple-faced langurTrachypithecus vetulus
(Erxleben, 1777)
[11]

Order Rodentia: rodents
Name Species authority Red List
Family Sciuridae: squirrels
Layard's palm squirrelFunambulus layardi
(Blyth, 1849)
[12]
Dusky palm squirrelFunambulus obscurus
(Waterhouse, 1838)
[13]
Family Muridae: Old World rats and mice
Mayor's mouseMus mayori
(Thomas, 1915)
[14]
Ceylon spiny mouseMus fernandoni
(Phillips, 1932)
[15]
Nillu ratRattus montanus
Phillips, 1932
[16]
Ohiya ratSrilankamys ohiensis
(Phillips, 1929)
[17]
Nolthenius's long-tailed climbing mouseVandeleuria nolthenii
Phillips, 1929
[18]

Order Soricomorpha: shrews and moles
Name Species authority Red List
Family Soricidae: shrews
Sri Lankan long-tailed shrewCrocidura miya
Phillips, 1929
[19]
Sinharaja shrewCrocidura hikmiya
Meegaskumbura, Meegaskumbura, Manamendra-Arachchi, Pethiyagoda, & Schneider, 2007
[20]
Pearson's long-clawed shrewSolisorex pearsoni
Thomas, 1924
[21]
Jungle shrewSuncus zeylanicus
Phillips, 1928
[22]
Sri Lankan shrewSuncus fellowesgordoni
Phillips, 1932
[23]

Order Carnivora: carnivorans
Name Species authority Red List
Family Viverridae: civets
Golden palm civetParadoxurus zeylonensis
(Pallas, 1778)
[24]
Golden wet zone palm civetParadoxurus aureus
Cuvier, 1822
[25]
Golden dry zone palm civetParadoxurus stenocephalus
groves et al., 2009
[26]
Sri Lanka brown palm civetParadoxurus montanus
Kelaart, 1852
[27]

Order Artiodactyla: even-toed ungulates
Name Species authority Red List
Family Tragulidae: chevrotains
Sri Lankan spotted chevrotainMoschiola meminna
Erxleben, 1777
[28]
Yellow-striped chevrotainMoschiola kathygre
Groves & Meijaard, 2005
[29]

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.
  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. Nekaris, A. (2008). "Loris tardigradus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  10. Dittus, W.; Watson, A. & Molur, S. (2008). "Macaca sinica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  11. Dittus, W.; Molur, S. & Nekaris, A. (2008). "Trachypithecus vetulus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  12. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Funambulus layardi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  13. Rajamani, N.; Molur, S. & Nameer, P.O. (2008). "Funambulus obscurus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved August 30, 2008.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  15. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Mus fernandoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  16. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S. & Molur, S. (2008). "Rattus montanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  17. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Srilankamys ohiensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  18. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Vandeleuria nolthenii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  19. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S. & Molur, S. (2008). "Crocidura miya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  20. Meegaskumbura, S. & Meegaskumbura, M. (2008). "Crocidura hikmiya". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  22. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Suncus zeylanicus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  23. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Suncus fellowesgordoni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  24. Muddappa, D.; Wozencraft, C.; Yonzon, P.; Jennings, A. & Veron, G. (2008). "Paradoxurus zeylonensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  26. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus stenocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  27. de A. Goonatilake, W.I.L.D.P.T.S.; Nameer, P.O. & Molur, S. (2008). "Paradoxurus montanus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  28. Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). "Moschiola meminna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  29. Duckworth, J.W. & Timmins, R.J. (2008). "Moschiola kathygre". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved October 22, 2009.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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