Mendis Wickramasinghe

Institute of Multimedia Education · Multimedia Education

Understanding the origins of continental island faunas is a primary goal in evolutionary biology and biogeography. Sri Lanka is a continental island at the tip of southern India with an exceptional diversity and endemism (78%) of lizards. Yet, relatively little is known about the origins of this remarkable diversity in the island. Of the 124 specie...

Two new species of the uropeltid snake genus Rhinophis Hemprich, 1820 are described from Sri Lanka. Rhinophis martin sp. nov. is described from 11 type specimens from the Rakwana Massif, and another 22 specimens from the same region are referred to this new species. Rhinophis dinarzardae sp. nov. is described from eight type specimens from the Knuc...

Based on both morphological and genetic evidence, we describe a new species of typhlopid snake from the dry zone of Sri Lanka, the first scolecophidian snake species to be described from Sri Lanka for nearly 75 years. Being the ninth member to the genus from the island, the new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combin...

Pseudophilautus pardus, was first described in 2007, based on a single specimen collected in Sri Lanka during the 19th century. Its absence in recent surveys suggested that the species was extinct. The distinctive spotted dorsal coloration, together with other morphological features, was used to distinguish it from congeners. In 2013, we discovered...

Sri Lanka has a rich snake diversity, but the island’s scolecophidians (‘blindsnakes’) are poorly understood due to the cryptic, burrowing habits of these inconspicuous animals and lack of systematic field surveys and morphological and molecular analyses. Here we report findings from a systematic survey carried out over a decade across the island o...

Uropeltidae is a clade of small fossorial snakes (ca. 65 extant species) endemic to peninsular India and Sri Lanka. Uropeltid taxonomy has been confusing, and the status of some species has not been revised for over a century. Attempts to revise uropeltid systematics and undertake evolutionary studies have been hampered by incompletely sampled and...

This recently-described species is known only from Udamaliboda, and from the Lihinihela, Borangamuwa and Warnagala areas of Samanala Nature Reserve, all in Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka. It has been recorded from 435 to 634 m asl. It has not been found in surveys of surrounding areas.

A new species of uropeltid snake is described from the Knuckles Conservation Forest, Matale District, Sri Lanka. Rhinophis gunasekarai sp. nov. is superficially most similar to Rhinophis phillipsi in having yellow lines on the dorsum, blotches on the lateral body, and a relatively small tail shield, but it differs from that species in having substa...

A new species of the endemic scincid lizard genus Lankascincus from the Rakwana hills of Sri Lanka, is described. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by possessing the following combination of characters: maximum SVL less than 35.0 mm, prefrontals in broad contact, seven supralabials, last supralabial scale split, 24 mid-body scale...

In September 2019, the IUCN/CI Biodiversity Assessment Unit held a workshop to complete IUCN Red List assessments for 169 species of snakes and lizards of the 230 currently (September 2019) described reptile species known from Sri Lanka, as part of the Global Reptile Assessment. Additionally, a preliminary Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) assessment was...

We describe a new species of Dryocalamus based on two specimens collected from the wet zone rainforests of southwestern Sri Lanka. Dryocalamus chithrasekarai sp. nov., is distinguished from congeners by its colour pattern (anterior body with solid white bands and a checkered appearance on the posterior lateral body, with consecutive bands coalescin...

Three new day gecko species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 are described from three isolated granite cave habitats with rock walls in Bambaragala (Ratnapura District), Dimbulagala (Polonnaruwa District), and Mandaramnuwara (Nuwara-Eliya District) in Sri Lanka based on morphometric and meristic characters. All of these new species are assigned...

Sri Lanka’s location, historic and geologic isolation from the continental landmass, topography and climate act to shape its biogeography and biodiversity, including conferring a remarkably high level of endemism, given its close proximity to the mainland. The island hosts several ‘point endemic1 species and even monotypic endemic genera. However t...

We describe a new species, Aspidura desilvai sp. nov., closely resembling A. trachyprocta and the last addition to the genus A. ravanai, from Knuckles massif, Matale District, of Sri Lanka. The species represents the ninth species of the genus known from Sri Lanka, and is readily distinguished from all other congeners by its colour pattern, the sca...

Three new day gecko species of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 are described from three isolated granite cave habitats with rock walls in Bambaragala (Ratnapura District), Dimbulagala (Polonnaruwa District), and Mandaramnuwara (Nuwara-Eliya District) in Sri Lanka based on morphometric and meristic characters. All of these new species are assigned...

The endemic Sri Lanka Drongo Dicrurus lophorinus nests in trees and is known to use the same host tree for several years. Here we describe a previously unknown behaviour of this species, in which it actively eliminates canopy contact between the host tree and adjacent trees, and attempts to reduce the roughness of the main trunk of the host tree to...

We describe a new species, Aspidura ravanai sp. nov., representing the eighth species of the genus known from Sri Lanka. The new species is readily distinguished from all other congeners by its colour pattern, scalation, and genetic distinctiveness. Our molecular results indicated that Aspidura began diversifying in the Miocene approximately 18 Ma,...

A new species of uropeltid snake, Rhinophis roshanpererai sp. nov., is described based on three specimens from Badulla District, Sri Lanka. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by the number of dorsal scale rows and ventral scales, a colour pattern that lacks pale stripes, and by having a very small tail shield with four or three pro...

A new species of Cnemaspis, Cnemaspis rajakarunai sp. nov. is described and is the fourth rock dwelling species belonging to the genus known from Sri Lanka. The new species is readily distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters: adult snout vent length 36 40 mm; precloacal pores absent, large femoero-precloacal...

A new species of Dendrelaphis, Dendrelaphis sinharajensis sp. nov. is described, the sixth species of the genus known from Sri Lanka. The new species is readily distinguished from all other congeners by its colour pattern and scalation. The species is a canopy-dweller known only from the Sinharaja World Heritage Site and its vicinity, in the lowlan...

The Sri Lankan uropeltid (shieldtail) snake Rhinophis dorsimaculatus Deraniyagala, 1941 was described originally from two specimens that were subsequently lost. The small amount of previously published data and lack of published colour photographs made this one of South Asia's most poorly known snake species, and this resulted in at least one insta...

172 pgs • Wegiht 1525g • Size 25.4 cm (height) 26.5 cm (width) • 170 gsm matt art paper, Hard cover • Over 130 aesthetically pleasing images • With 9 images short listed to the final round of the 2015 BBC wildlife photographer of the year award • Macro photographic captures • Rare insights of birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians • Mysterious cr...

A new species of shrub frog Pseudophilautus dilmah is described from the Central Hills of Sri Lanka. This unique species is distinguished from all the other congeners from a combination of characters; snout rounded in lateral aspect, bluntly pointed in dorsal and ventral aspect, canthus rostralis rounded, vomerine teeth, lingual papilla and nuptial...

A new species of rock dwelling gecko belonging to the genus Cnemaspis is described from Sri Lanka based on a suite of morphological features. The species is the largest of its genus described from Sri Lanka so far (snout-vent length 52-54 mm) and is the second largest of the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot. It may be diagnosed in detai...

Pseudophilautus hypomelas (Günther, 1876), was previously known from the type collection of 14 specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum, London. There has been no record of this species since the original description by Günther in 1876, and subsequently this species was considered extinct. In recent explorations however, the species has be...

Eight new species of Pseudophilautus (Pseudophilautus bambaradeniyai, P. dayawansai, P. jagathgunawardanai, P. karunarathnai, P. newtonjayawardanei, P. puranappu, P. samarakoon, and P. sirilwijesundarai) were discovered as a result of a survey carried out to study the herpetofaunal diversity with the changes in elevation in the Sripada World Herita...

Pseudophilautus stellatus (Kelaart 1853) has been rediscovered from the Peak Wilderness, Central Hills of Sri Lanka. The species, till now known only from its lost holotype, was the first shrub frog described from Sri Lanka, and had not been reported since then. It was thought to have become extinct for nearly 157 years, being the amphibian species...

Eight new species of Pseudophilautus (Pseudophilautus bambaradeniyai, P. dayawansai, P. jagathgunawardanai, P. karunarathnai, P. newtonjayawardanei, P. puranappu, P. samarakoon, and P. sirilwijesundarai) were discovered as a result of a survey carried out to study the herpetofaunal diversity with the changes in elevation in the Sripada World Herita...

A new species of frog tentatively assigned to the genus Polypedates is described from the Gilimale forest reserve of the Sabaragamuwa province of Sri Lanka. This tree frog is characterized by unique osteological characteristics in the skull which distinguish it from all other congeners, such as the presence of a series of maxillary teeth progressiv...

Adenomus kandianus Günther (1872) was previously known only from two specimens both deposited in the British Museum, the holotype BMNH1947.2.20.63, and the syntype of A. kelaarti BMNH1947.2.20.62. The only record of A. kandianus since the initial description in 1872 was by Ferguson in 1876, who mentions two specimens resembling Bufo kandianus in hi...

Approximately 900 man hours were spent in the field over a period of four months to document amphibians and reptiles in representative habitat types, using different sampling methods. A total of 21 species of amphibians and 45 species of reptiles were recorded from MRF, of which 15 amphibians and 26 reptile species are endemic. The reptiles include...

Since the description of the first reptile, Cylindrophis maculate (syn. Anguis maculata) from Sri Lanka by Carl Linnaeus in 1754, large number of reptile species have been recorded from Sri Lanka (Batuwita and Bahir, 2005; Batuwita and Pethiyagoda, 2007; Das, et al. 2008; Deraniyagala 1953 and 1955; de Silva 1980; de Silva 1990; Gans & Fetcho, 1982...

A comparative study of Dasia halianus in India and Sri Lanka is discussed. Indian specimens of "D. halianus" are in fact referable to D. subcaeruleum. D. halianus is again considered a Sri Lankan endemic.

We describe a unique feeding behavior of Varanus s. salvator observed within Lahugala National Park, Sri Lanka. The lizard was observed lashing its tail quickly from side to side while submerged in a shallow waterhole, which displaced water and fishes from the waterhole onto the land. More than 30 fishes were expelled onto the land, of which many w...

A new species of Rhinophis, Rhinophis erangaviraji sp. nov. is described, the tenth species of the genus known from Sri Lanka. The new species is readily distinguished from all other congeners by its colour pattern and scalation. Morphometric analysis supports the distinction of the new species from the superficially similar R. blythii. The new spe...

Sri Lanka has 31 skink species belonging to seven genera. We describe here the first record of the genus Chalci-des in the Island. The genus Chalcides is currently distributed from Europe to India. This work reports a range extension of this genus to Sri Lanka.

The present work describes two new species of Lankascincus from the Sripada Sanctuary (Peak Wilderness Sanctuary) of Sri Lanka. Lankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. is the largest member in the genus and it is morphologically closely related to L. deignani (Taylor 1950). But Lankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. can be clearly distinguished from other mem...

The present work describes two new species of Lankascincus from the Sripada Sanctuary (Peak Wilderness Sanctuary) of Sri Lanka. Lankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. is the largest member in the genus and it is morphologically closely related to L. deignani (Taylor 1950). But Lankascincus sripadensis sp. nov. can be clearly distinguished from other mem...

Biodiversity of the Wilpattu national park

Five new species of geckos are described from Sri Lanka by morphological comparison and morphometric analysis leading to review the genus Cnemaspis in the country. The type series of these species were identified from following localities: C. alwisi and C. kumarasinghei from the intermediate zone, C. retigalensis from the dry zone, C. molligodai fr...

Moragahakanda area and Amban Ganga basins are part of our ancient irrigation civilization being the arena of historical river diversion endeavours pertaining to Amban Ganga. The Elahera anicut and the Yoda Ela were first built by King Mahasena (275-301 AD) and later renovated in the early 1940’s. The project site is located near Elahera in the Mata...

The paper describes a new frog of the genus Nannophrys from Sri Lanka. The new species is distinguished from all other Nannophrys species by the following combination of morphological characters; distal subarticular tubercle and penulti-mate subarticular tubercles of 4 th toe are well separated (vs. these two tubercles close in all other species of...

The paper describes a new frog of the genus Nannophrys from Sri Lanka. The new species is distinguished from all other Nannophrys species by the following combination of morphological characters; distal subarticular tubercle and penultimate subarticular tubercles of 4th toe are well separated (vs. these two tubercles close in all other species of t...

Fernando, Samantha Suranjan, Wickramasingha, Mendis, Rodirigo, Roshan K. (2007): A new species of endemic frog belonging to genus Nannophrys Günther, 1869 (Anura: Dicroglossinae) from Sri Lanka. Zootaxa 1403: 55-68, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.175474

The Wilpattu National Park (WNP) is the oldest and largest national park in the country. It was declared as a sanctuary in 1905 and thereafter upgraded to a national park on February 25, 1938. However, as a result of the civil conflict, the WNP was closed from December 1988 until March 2003. WNP is not only siginificant from an ecological standpoin...

A new species of Cnemaspis, C. ranwellai is described from Gannoruwa in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. This species differs from all other Cnemaspis species by having 12-15 femoral pores and having spine-like tubercles on the body and tail. Males have a distinct yellow colour in the throat area. It is similar to Cnemaspis jerdoni scalepensis Fe...

A new species of Cnemaspis, C. ranwellai is described from Gannoruwa in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. This species differs from all other Cnemaspis species by having 12–15 femoral pores and having spine-like tubercles on the body and tail. Males have a distinct yellow colour in the throat area. It is similar to Cnemaspis jerdoni scalepensis Fe...

A survey was carried out in the Kandakuliya-Kalpitiya SAM area to document the biodiversity associated with this coastal landscape, and identify ecologically sensitive sites. Detailed observations on habitats and species were made over a period of a week, in July 2005. Based on vegetation types, physical conditions and edaphic factors, a total of 1...

The biodiversity in Anawilundawa wetland sanctuary was assessed during the period September 2003 to January 2004. 43 line-transects and 13 point counts, located in 7 representative sampling sites, were sampled thrice during the survey period, which covered both the dry and northeast monsoon seasons, and also the migratory season for birds. A night...

Investigations on the fauna of Sinharaja spanning the past four years have enabled to document a total of 319 vertebrate species, representing 50% of the native inland vertebrate fauna of Sri Lanka. About 30% (97 species) of the native vertebrate species in Sinharaja are endemic to Sri Lanka, while about 35% (112 species) are nationally threatened....