Wildlife of Sri Lanka includes its

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is '' flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. ...

and their natural

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

has one of the highest rates of biological

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...

(16% of the

and 23% of flowering plants are endemic) in the world.

Ecological zones

The mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone," receive ample rainfall (an annual average of 2500 millimeters). Most of the southeast, east, and northern parts of the country comprise the "dry zone, which receives between 1200 and 1900 mm of rain annually.

Forestry in Sri Lanka

Faunal diversity

Number of described species of fauna in Sri Lanka

The most recent update on the Sri Lankan biodiversity released during the 6th National Report of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This report provided an updated list of species up to the end of December 2018. However, in 2019, 54 new species were described: including 26 spiders, (14 cellar spiders, 7 jumping spiders, 4 crab spiders and one tarantula species), one scorpion species, 5 mites and ticks, 14 reptiles (13 day geckos and one species of snake), one species of shrub frog, one species of orchid and 6 species of lichens. Later in 2021, Prof. Devaka Weerakoon and Amila Sumanapala released the updated list of taxa of biodiversity of Sri Lanka up to December 2020 including all the new discoveries in 2020.

Vertebrates

Mammals

Sri Lanka is home to roughly 123

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur ...

s, 41 of which are threatened (9 critically). 16 of the species are endemic, of which 14 are threatened, including the large

sloth bear The sloth bear (''Melursus ursinus'') is a myrmecophagous bear species native to the Indian subcontinent. It feeds on fruits, ants and termites. It is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, mainly because of habitat loss and degradation ...

. mammalian

orders Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

), with 30 different species. Sri Lanka's surrounding waters are home to 28 species of

Cetaceans Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel th ...

Reptiles

Sri Lanka currently contains 185 species of

reptiles Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates ( lizards and snakes) and rhynchoceph ...

, of which 60 are threatened and 115 are endemic. Most of the reptiles are

snakes Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

and the largest are two species of crocodile, the

mugger crocodile The mugger crocodile (''Crocodylus palustris'') is a medium-sized broad-snouted crocodile, also known as mugger and marsh crocodile. It is native to freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent, where it inhabits marshe ...

and

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been l ...

Amphibians

Sri Lanka has one of the richest diversity of

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbo ...

in the world, containing 122 species of amphibians up to January 2019 with many recent discoveries, with 112 endemic species. 52 species of amphibians in Sri Lanka are threatened, all but one of which are endemic.

Birds

Sri Lanka is home to 227 species of birds (though some past estimates put it as high as 486), 46 of which are threatened (10 critically).

Fish

Sri Lanka contains 93 species of

freshwater fish Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels o ...

, and 50 of which are endemic to the country. 28 species are categorized as threatened by

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

. There are 8 species of brackish water fish that also come to freshwater, and 24 introduced exotic fish species.

Insects

Albino cockroach from bakamuna, Sri Lanka

Insects belonging to all 32 orders except

Grylloblattodea Grylloblattidae, commonly known as the icebugs, or ice crawlers, is a family of extremophile (psychrophile) and wingless insects that live in the cold on top of mountains and the edges of glaciers. They belong, along with Mantophasmatidae (rock ...

have been recorded from the Sri Lanka.

Major insects

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describe ...

, which is the largest order in whole insect world, also the largest in Sri Lanka, contribute with 3,033 documented species. Lepidopterans, the

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s and butterflies has the second largest number of species in Sri Lanka. 245 butterflies species are recorded from Sri Lanka of which 24 are endemic to the island. 1695 species of moths are also found, but the endemism is unknown. Hymenopterans, which includes ants,

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfami ...

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s contribute to the third largest insect order in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is home to 181 species of

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...

s that included to 61 genera and 10 subfamilies. One endemic genus '' Aneuretus'' is also included to the list. There are about 70,000 species of bees of order

Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typic ...

described in the world with nearly 450 genera and 7 families. Out of them, Sri Lanka comprises 148 species included to 38 genera and 4 families. True flies and

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

es belongs to order

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

is much highly recorded from Sri Lanka. There are more than 1,341 dipterans found in the island, which earns fourth largest insect order found. About 131 species of

mosquitoe Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

s that included to 16 genera are described and documented from Sri Lanka. Though they are primarily vectors of many human diseases, majority of mosquitoes in Sri Lanka are harmless to humans and livestock.

Minor insects

The exact species for other orders is still not classified and documented. Walker on 1861, listed 2,007 species belongs to 9 insect orders and Haly on 1890 identified 1,510 beetle species from Sri Lanka. However, after series of many publications from many foreign entomologists, Two Sri Lankan entomologists, Anura Wijesekara and D.P Wijesinghe precisely documented 11,144 insect species belongs to 30 orders from Sri Lanka in 2003.

Damselflies Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings alo ...

categorized in to Suborder: Zygoptera; and

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

into Suborder:

Anisoptera A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

. There are 121 described species within 13 families can be found in Sri Lanka. 59 species from them are endemic. Hubbard and co-workers documented 46 species in 8 families of order Ephemeroptera. Henneman in 2002 recorded 69 species in order

Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassh ...

. He also collected few specimen of order

Phasmatodea The Phasmatodea (also known as Phasmida, Phasmatoptera or Spectra) are an order of insects whose members are variously known as stick insects, stick-bugs, walking sticks, stick animals, or bug sticks. They are also occasionally referred to as D ...

around central hills. 66 species of order

Blattodea Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically mak ...

are found, but not taxonomic evidences. Few species of the order

Mantodea Mantises are an order (Mantodea) of insects that contains over 2,400 species in about 460 genera in 33 families. The largest family is the Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantises are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They ha ...

were studies by Henry in 1931. Clear documentation of the species within

Dermaptera Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera. With about 2,000 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders. Earwigs have characteristic cerci, a pair of forcep-like pincers on their abdomen, and membranous wings folded ...

can be found, which was initiated by Burr (1901) and Brindle (1972). Within the

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

infraorder

Isoptera Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes ( eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blat ...

, 56 species recorded. In 1913, Green compiled a concise catalogue for isopterans in Sri Lanka. Only 4 species of order

Embioptera The order Embioptera, commonly known as webspinners or footspinners, are a small group of mostly tropical and subtropical insects, classified under the subclass Pterygota. The order has also been called Embiodea or Embiidina. More than 400 s ...

are recorded. in the order

Psocoptera Psocoptera are a paraphyletic group of insects that are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. The name Psocoptera has been replaced with Psocodea in recent literature, with the inclusion of the former order Phthiraptera into Psoco ...

, two subfamilies studied. They are Epipsocidae and Pseudocaeciliidae. Informations of the species of the orders

Thysanoptera Thrips (order Thysanoptera) are minute (mostly long or less), slender insects with fringed wings and unique asymmetrical mouthparts. Different thrips species feed mostly on plants by puncturing and sucking up the contents, although a few are ...

Neuroptera The insect order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera can be grouped together with the Megaloptera and Raphidioptera in th ...

Mecoptera Mecoptera (from the Greek: ''mecos'' = "long", ''ptera'' = "wings") is an order of insects in the superorder Endopterygota with about six hundred species in nine families worldwide. Mecopterans are sometimes called scorpionflies after their lar ...

, and

Siphonaptera Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, ar ...

are very few and more studies are required. Only the family

Coniopterygidae The dustywings, Coniopterygidae, are a family of Pterygota (winged insects) of the net-winged insect order ( Neuroptera). About 460 living species are known.Engel & Grimaldi (2007) These tiny insects can usually be determined to genus with a ha ...

of Neuroptera have been studied in 1982. Sri Lanka is known to home for 794 species of

Hemiptera Hemiptera (; ) is an order of insects, commonly called true bugs, comprising over 80,000 species within groups such as the cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, assassin bugs, bed bugs, and shield bugs. They range in size from to arou ...

ns. Detailed work of Sri Lankan hemipterans are recorded in book "Catalogue of Hemiptera of

. Sri Lanka comprises 74 species in 46 genera and 6 families of

aphid Aphids are small sap-sucking insects and members of the superfamily Aphidoidea. Common names include greenfly and blackfly, although individuals within a species can vary widely in color. The group includes the fluffy white woolly aphids. A t ...

s within order

. 2 endemic aphid species found on Sri Lanka. Checklists on orders

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

and

Strepsiptera The Strepsiptera are an order of insects with eleven extant families that include about 600 described species. They are endoparasites in other insects, such as bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. Females of most species never ...

are well documented, but recent work is needed.

Crustaceans

Freshwater crabs

All recorded 51 species along with 5 genera in the family

Gecarcinucidae The Gecarcinucidae are a family of true freshwater crabs. The family Parathelphusidae is now demoted to the rank of subfamily, as the Parathelphusinae, within the Gecarcinucidae. "Family" Parathelphusidae is now considered as a junior synonym. ...

are totally endemic to Sri Lanka. 98% of those crabs are IUCN categorized as threatened, endangered or critically endangered animals.

Isopods

Isopods occur abundantly in the sea, freshwater and land. They typically flattened dorsoventrally and mostly scavengers. Sri Lanka harbor 92 species of isopods of 53 genera included to 23 families.

Mangrove crabs

The exact number of species around mangroves and estuaries within coastal marine regions is not clear. but during a research on diversity of mangrove crabs in Kadolkele,

Negombo Negombo (, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the west coast and at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, in Western Province, from Colombo via Colombo - Katunayake Expressway. Negombo is one of the major commercial hubs in the country an ...

, five species identified, with two new species earlier not document from Sri Lanka. Most marine crabs are much larger and often caught in fishing nets. They are edible foods with high protein. Some of marine edible crabs from Sri Lanka are *'' Charybdis natator'' *'' Episesarma versicolor'' *'' Metopograpsus messor'' *'' Metopograpsus thukuhar'' *'' Neosarmatium smithi'' *'' Perisesarma guttatum'' *'' Portunus armatus'' *'' Portunus sanguinolentus'' *''

Scylla serrata ''Scylla serrata'' (often called mud crab or mangrove crab, although both terms are highly ambiguous, and black crab) is an ecologically important species of crab found in the estuaries and mangroves of Africa, Australasia, and Asia. In their ...

'' *'' Thalamita crenata''

Molluscs

There is known over 246 land gastropods of Sri Lanka with 83% endemicity. Sub class

Pulmonata Pulmonata or pulmonates, is an informal group (previously an Order (biology), order, and before that a Class (biology), subclass) of snails and slugs characterized by the ability to breathe air, by virtue of having a Respiratory system of gastro ...

consists of 159 species within 23 families and subclass Prosobranchia by 88 species in four families. A total of five land snail genera, namely, ''

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic '' Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He ...

'', '' Ratnadvipia'', ''

Acavus ''Acavus'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Acavidae. They belongs to group of tree snails that inhabited the ancient continent of Gondwana over 150 million years ago. These beauti ...

'', '' Oligospira'' and '' Aulopoma'' are endemic to Sri Lanka with 14 species included to these genera. Thirteen more genera such as ''

Ruthvenia ''Ruthvenia'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Charopidae. These snails are restricted to South India and Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śr� ...

'', '' Thysanota'', '' Cryptozona'', '' Euplecta'', '' Mariaella'', '' Eurychlamys'', '' Corilla'', '' Beddomea'', '' Trachia'', '' Leptopomoides'', '' Micraulax'', '' Tortulosa'' and '' Nicida'' are restricted to Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and

. 18 species are recorded as exotic species and agricultural pests. Fauna of Sri Lanka also include

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

s. The number of marine molluscs of Sri Lanka is not known and there is about 240 species listed meantime in 2006.

Myriapods

The diversity of subphylum

Myriapoda Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. The fossil record of myriapods reaches back into the late Silurian ...

, is not well studied in Sri Lanka recently. The remaining facts and checklists of these creatures are dated back to Newport in 1845, which is the first known study about

centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...

s. Many of centipede works are done more than a century. When considering

millipede Millipedes are a group of arthropods that are characterised by having two pairs of jointed legs on most body segments; they are known scientifically as the class Diplopoda, the name derived from this feature. Each double-legged segment is a resu ...

diversity, which is much higher in study than centipedes. Currently, 104 species of millipedes and 19 species of centipedes are known from Sri Lanka.

Arachnids

Spiders

The detailed work on Sri Lankan spiders were done through checklist by Manju Siliwal and Sanjay Molur's detailed ''checklist of spiders of South Asia including 2006 revision of Indian spider checklist''. This checklist provided all the described spider species of South Asia and part of South-East Asia as well. According to this checklist, Sri Lanka has 501 species of spiders belongs to 45 families and 213 genera. Out of these 360, 250 are endemic spiders to Sri Lanka with 22 endemic genera.

Ant-mimicking spiders

Spiders in genus Myrmarachne are commonly called ant-mimicking spiders. They are grouped in the family

Salticidae Jumping spiders are a group of spiders that constitute the family Salticidae. As of 2019, this family contained over 600 described genera and over 6,000 described species, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Jumping spi ...

of order

Araneae Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

. Out of 100+ species described, 12 species are found in Sri Lanka. Three species were described in 2015.

Tarantulas

There are 8 species of tarantulas that are recorded from Sri Lanka. When considering with

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

, 15 species of ''

Poecilotheria ''Poecilotheria'' is a genus of tarantulas native to India and Sri Lanka. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1885. They are arboreal tarantulas, commonly known as ornamental tarantulas, known for their vivid color patterns, fast mov ...

'' are recorded from both countries; seven endemics from

and seven endemics from

. One species found in both countries.

Scorpions

Scorpion juvenile found from Bakamuna, Sri Lanka - closer look

There are 18 species of scorpions which are found in Sri Lanka. Out of these 18 species, 7 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. In addition to the endemic species, 4 subspecies of the 9 non-endemic species are also endemic to Sri Lanka. According to 2014 researches, 47 species of pseudoscorpions have been identified from Sri Lanka. Out of this 43 species, 20 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. The diversity of lesser arachnids within Sri Lanka is not extensive. Some observations on particular species have been undertaken by some local and foreign scientists. According to them, there are 3 species of

whip spider Amblypygi is an ancient order of arachnid chelicerate arthropods also known as African cave-dwelling spiders, whip spiders and tailless whip scorpions (not to be confused with whip scorpions or vinegaroons that belong to the related order Thelypho ...

s, 4 species of

whip scorpion Thelyphonida is an arachnid order comprising invertebrates commonly known as whip scorpions or vinegaroons (also spelled vinegarroons and vinegarones). They are often called uropygids in the scientific community based on an alternative name for ...

s, and 21 species of daddy longlegs found in Sri Lanka.

Ticks and Mites

Ticks belong to superfamily Ixodoidea of the order

Parasitiformes Parasitiformes are a superorder of Arachnids, constituting one of the two major groups of mites, alongside Acariformes. Parasitiformes has, at times, been classified at the rank of order or suborder. It is uncertain whether Parasitiformes and Ac ...

. 27 species of Ixodid ticks, commonly called hard ticks, of the family

Ixodidae The Ixodidae are the family of hard ticks or scale ticks, one of the three families of ticks, consisting of over 700 species. They are known as 'hard ticks' because they have a scutum or hard shield, which the other major family of ticks, the 'sof ...

belonging to nine genera have been reported to date from Sri Lanka.

Echinoderms

Echinoderms belong to the phylum

Echinodermata An echinoderm () is any member of the phylum Echinodermata (). The adults are recognisable by their (usually five-point) radial symmetry, and include starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the s ...

. They are deuterostomes that are closely related to

chordate A chordate () is an animal of the phylum Chordata (). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five synapomorphies, or primary physical characteristics, that distinguish them from all the other taxa. These fi ...

s. In Sri Lanka, there are 39 regular echinoids belonging to 28 genera, nine families, and five orders are recorded. Besides, there are 21 irregular echinoid species belonging to four orders, nine families and 15 genera in Sri Lanka.

Flora

Diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

and

of plants in Sri Lanka are quite high. There are 3,210

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

s belonging to 1,052 genera. 916 species and 18 genera are endemic to the island. Additionally, all but one of the island’s more than 55 dipterocarps are confined to Sri Lanka. Although not lately assessed, Sri Lanka’s

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s are estimated at about 350 species. Diversity, richness, and endemism across all

taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

groups are much higher in the wet zone than in the dry zone. Wet zone, which accounts for only a quarter of Sri Lanka’s land area, harbours 88 percent of the flowering plants, and 95 percent of country's flowering plant endemics. The natural forests of Sri Lanka are categorized into eight types. '' Loxococcus'', a monotypic genus consisting of the sole species ''Loxococcus rupicola'', is the only palm (

Arecaceae The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm trees ...

) genus that is endemic to Sri Lanka. A new

Gesneriaceae Gesneriaceae, the gesneriad family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of about 152 genera and ca. 3,540 species in the tropics and subtropics of the Old World (almost all Didymocarpoideae) and the New World (most Gesnerioideae), ...

species '' Henckelia wijesundarae'', endemic to Hiniduma, Galle is described and illustrated in 2016 by Subhani Ranasinghe et al. In 2020, a species of orchid '' Gastrodia gunatillekeorum'' was described from Sinharaja. In the same year, several new identities were described: one species of seagrass: '' Halophila major'' and six species of liverworts; '' Lejeunea sordida'', '' Leptolejeunea subdentata'', '' Spruceanthus polymorphus'', '' Frullania udarii'', '' Heteroscyphus turgidus'' and '' Fuscocephaloziopsis lunulifolia32''. With that , the total number of leafy liverwort species in Sri Lanka increased to 296 under 63 genera. In the meantime, a species of fungus. ''

Helvella crispa ''Helvella crispa'', also known as the white saddle, elfin saddle or common helvel, is an Ascomycota, ascomycete fungus of the family Helvellaceae. The mushroom is readily identified by its irregularly shaped whitish pileus (mycology), cap, f ...

'' also identified from Sri Lanka.

Lichens

Sri Lankan Environmentalist, Dr. Gothamie Weerakoon has discovered 51 new varieties of

Lichen A lichen ( , ) is a composite organism that arises from algae or cyanobacteria living among filaments of multiple fungi species in a mutualistic relationship.Knuckles Mountain Range The Knuckles Mountain Range lies in central Sri Lanka, in the Districts of Matale and Kandy. The range takes its name from a series of recumbent folds and peaks in the west of the massif which resemble the knuckles of clenched fist when viewed ...

. While Dr. Udeni Jayalal ''et al'' found 2 new lichens from

Horton Plains Horton Plains National Park ( si, හෝර්ටන් තැන්න ජාතික උද්‍යානය, Hortan Thanna Jathika Udyanaya) is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It is locate ...

in 2012, as '' Anzia mahaeliyensis'' and '' Anzia flavotenuis''. Currently, more than 400 species of lichens are found in Sri Lanka.

References

Bibliography

* *Herat, T. R. Somaratna, S & Pradeepa, 1998, Common Vegetables of Sri Lanka. NARESA, Sri Lanka. *Herat, T. R. 2005. Tentative Keys to the Families & Genera of Pteridophytes of Sri Lanka. Author Publisher. *Herat, T. R. P. Ratnayake. 2005 An Illustrated Guide to the Fern Flora of Knuckles Conservation Area Sri Lanka. Author Publisher. *Herat, T. R. 2005. Endemic Flowering Plants, Part I A Checklist & an Index to A Revised Handbook to the Flora of Ceylon. Author Publisher. *Herat, T. R. 2007. Endemic Flowering Plants of Sri Lanka Part II A, Index to the Distribution of Plants with Localities. Environmental Ministry Colombo. *Herat, T. R. 2007 Endemic Flowering Plants of Sri Lanka Part II B, Index to the Distribution within Agro Ecological Zones. Environmental Ministry Colombo. *Herat, T. R. A. U. Herat, 2008. Index to the Distribution of Ferns & Fern-Allies within the Administrative Districts of Sri Lanka. Author Publisher. *Herat, T. R. 2009. YS%, dxlSh imqIaml Ydl i, yd jQ isxy, fmdoq kdu iQpsh’ Author Publisher.

External links

A guide to reptiles of Sri LankaBiological diversity in the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka
{{Geography of Sri Lanka

Biota of Sri Lanka Biota of archipelagoes