(PDF) FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN

WILDLANKA

JOURNAL

OF

THE

DEPARTMENT

OF

WILDLIFE

CONSERVATION,

SRI

LANKA

A reconstruction model of Journey to the Sabaragamuwa Basin Sri Lanka

JUNE 2021 | VOL.9 | NO.2 | PAGES 173-300

DATE OF PUBLICATION - 30TH JUNE, 2021

ISSN 1800-1777(print)/2424-6263(online)

WILDLANKA

Journal of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka

Vol.9 | No.2 | June, 2021

WILDLANKA

Journal of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, Sri Lanka

Vol.9 | No.2 | June, 2021

Editorial Board

M.G.C. Sooriyabandara

M.S.O.M. Amararatne

Prof. Nirmalie Pallewatta

Prof. D.S.A. Wijesundara

Prof. D.K. Weerakoon

Prof. Sinha Bitapi Chhaya

Dr. G.A.T. Prasad

Prof. Terra Kelly

Prof. Sevvandi Jayakody

Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda

Prof. M.R. Wijesinghe

M.S.L.R.P. Marasinghe

Dr. V.B. Mathur

Prof. Nimal Gunathilake

Dr. U.K.G.K. Padmalal

Dr. Sumith Pilapitiya

Prof. E.P.S. Chandana

Dr. S.P. Goyal

Dr. U.K.L. Peiris

Prof. Pradeepa Bandaranayake

Prof. Terney Pradeep Kumara

Prof. D.D.G.L. Dahanayaka

Chief Editor

R.M.R. Nilanthi Rajapakse

Department of Wildlife Conservation

Sri Lanka

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WILDLANKA Vol.9, No.2, June, 2021.

Cover Page

A reconstruction model of Journey to the Sabaragamuwa Basin Sri Lanka

ISSN 1800-1777(print) | 2424-6263(online)

WILDLANKA

Vol. 9, No.2, June, 2021

Date of issue: 30th June, 2021

ISSN 1800-1777(print) | 2424-6263(online)

CONTENTS

MONOGRAPH

Fossils of Sri Lanka: Chapter Sabaragamuwa Basin 173 - 300

Aravinda Ravibhanu Sumanarathna, Kamal Abewardhana,

Jinadasa Katupotha and Majda Aouititen

M ON OG RA PH

WILDLANKA Vol.9, No.2, pp. 173 - 300, 2021.

FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN

ARAVINDA RAVIBHANU SUMANARATHNA1*, KAMAL ABEWARDHANA2,

JINADASA KATUPOTHA3 and MAJDAAOUITITEN4

1,2,3,4 Department of Research & Innovation -

South Asian Astrobiology & Earth Sciences Research Unit of Eco Astronomy Sri Lanka.

1,2 United Nations Association of Sri Lanka: 39/1, Cyril Jansz, Mawatha, Panadura.

3 Department of Geography University of Sri Jayewardenepura,

Gangodawila, Nugegoda, 10250, Sri Lanka.

4 Beijing Forestry University School of Ecology and Nature Conservation,

Beijing, China.

*aravinda@ecoastronomy.com

ABSTRACT : The fossils are preserved remains of body parts or traces of ancient organisms. Sri Lanka

is a continental island that evolved via unique geological formations, including fossil remains. This island

represents many fossils belonging to three di

ff

erent geological periods, for instance: the Jurassic period,

Miocene period, and Pleistocene epoch. Most of the Pleistocene fossils were found in terrestrial deposits

(alluvial) from the Sabaragamuwa basin called Ratnapura fauna. Thus, our investigations focused on

documenting samples of fossils gathered, under the project called “The Paleo World of Sabaragamuwa

Basin - Sri Lanka” conducted by Eco Astronomy Inc (Sri Lanka). Considering the geological time scale,

we are looking for reporting samples that approximately belong to the Quaternary period. As we know,

the Quaternary period of the Earth’s geographic history includes two geologic epochs viz., which are:

the Pleistocene (2.58 Myr to 0.0012 Myr), and the Holocene (0.0012 Myr to Present). Both epochs have

changed and divided the fauna’s equilibrium and human’s cultural phases based on climate and sea-

level

f

luctuations that took place during these periods. Some of the sections in those epochs has occurred

during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and represent the mean sea level was much lower compared

with the present records. Therefore, the quaternary period shows the open accessibility to migration of

mammalian mega faunal species, that lived during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene

epoch. Most probably, the terrestrial climate change has impacted them and caused the extinction of

those megafaunas. The gathered data details were synchronized via the technical aspect of sampling

photography, toy photography, and virtual reality for analyses and reconstruction purposes.

KEY WORDS: fossils, Ratnapura fauna, paleontology, Sri Lanka, reconstruction.

INTRODUCTION

Fossils and Fossilization

Fossils (from Latin word fossils, literally

“digging”) are the preserved pieces of evidence

or traces of fauna,

f

lora, and other organisms

that once lived on Earth. Fossilization is an

exceptionally rare phenomenon that occurred in

speci

f

ic conditions. The process of fossilization

changes due to the tissue type and external

and environmental conditions. In other words,

fossilization is the process by which a plant or an

animal becomes a fossil, and for that to happen,

the body part needs to pass through crucial

steps of the fossilization process. Prothero

(2013) explained the permineralization,

casts and molds, authigenic mineralization,

replacement and recrystallization and adpression

(compression -impression) by Shute (1987).

As well, others discussed the soft tissue, cell

and molecular preservation (Embery, et al.,

2003; Schweitzer et al., 2014; Zylberberg &

Laurin, 2011), carbonization and coali

f

ication

(Prothero, 2013), Bioimmuration (Wilson et al.,

1994; Taylor, 1990).

174 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

Most organic components of the formerly-

living being tend to decompose relatively quickly

following the death of this organize. In order

for an organic organism to be fossilized (Fig.

01), the remains normally need to be covered

by sediment as soon as possible (Sumanarathna,

2020). However, there are exceptions to this,

such as if an organism becomes preserved due to

the amberization (Grimaldi, 2009), or because

the organism become completely frozen, or due

to desiccation, or if the organism was found in

an anoxic environment. Much farther, according

to some interesting scienti

f

ic papers records,

we have noticed thought some analysis of the

fossils historical data, when it’s a concern of the

process of fossilization, a very small number

or amount of prehistoric organic being got

fossilized. In order for this phenomenon to take

place, conditions had to be exactly favorable.

Generally speaking, studies proved that only the

hard parts of an organism can become fossilized,

such as the teeth, the claws, the shells, and the

bones. In fact, the soft body parts are usually

lost either due to the decomposition process,

except for some speci

f

ic situation under some

special conditions.

There are many ways for an organism

to get preserved, this document will aim to

explain the general samples preserved, known

as well as fossilized organisms’, we are going

to mention the way in which most fossils used

to be formed and created. Usually, fossils

occur in sedimentary rock, and it is very rare

to encounter such phenomenon in metamorphic

rock (Bucher, 1953; Franz et al., 1991; Hill,

1985; Laborda-López et al., 2015; Wright and

Ghent, 1973). The best scenario for an excellent

fossilization would be under some speci

f

ic

condition in which an organism get buried at the

bottom of a lake, where it gets then covered by

a lot of sediment.

In this type of environment, the organism

is protected from other animals and natural

elements that would cause the body’s

fragmentation as it gets breakdown. It is crucial

that the body must be in an environmental

condition, that allow the rapid burial processing

mechanisms. The areas in which there is a high

rate of sediment deposition are ideal because

of the presence of minerals that will lead to

the increase of the pressure. Additionally with

some extreme conditions the records have

proved that the ammonites and meta fossils

are recorded which assemblages developed by

metasomatic exchange of silica, sourced from

the matrix with CaO sourced from the calcite

shells. As well, we need to highlight that the

metamorphic transformations, in the particular

reaction of calcite with silica-bearing

f

luids

attend to form wollastonite and we can notice

the transformation of pyrite to pyrrhotite (Shaw,

2019).

There are other ways of preservation, such

as the petri

f

ication phenomenon. In fact, the

petri

f

ied wood happens under extreme incident

conditions and parameters. For instance: if for

long time ago, dead logs were washed into a

river and buried in the sand. Water with alkaline

and dissolved silica went down through the

sediments, and get in contact with the logs.

The logs decayed, will release carbon dioxide,

which dissolved in the water and formed

carbonic acid.

The alkaline water will then be neutralized,

and the silica evaporate out of the solution.

Very slowly, the cellulose of the wood will be

replaced, molecule by molecule, by the silica

instead of the cellulose. Eventually, the wood

gets replaced in perfect detailed process by

minerals. If other minerals existed during this

situation, also, the wood could be stained with

pretty colors (Dávid, 2011).

Organisms can also be preserved by

carbonization. If a leaf falls into a stagnant,

oxygen-poor swamp, it may not decay. If it

gets covered in silt and subjected to heat and

pressure, most of the leaf’s organic material is

released as methane, water, and carbon dioxide.

The remainder is a thin

f

ilm of carbon, showing

the imprint of the leaf. Insects and

f

ish can be

preserved in this way too. (Sumanarathna,

2021).

Paleontology and Paleontologist

After having a brief introduction of fossils

fossilization phenomenon and their di

ff

erent

preservations conditions, let’s see in depth

what is the board disciplines that we going to

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 175

FIGURE 01: Project Dynamics of Himachal Pradesh: Upgrading Prometheus of Paleo Himachal

Ammonites fossils from Ladakh high altitude mountains © Aravinda Ravibhanu 2019 (Sumanarathna,

2020).

apply for study fossils. Conducting this type of

research, it is called Paleontology, it is indeed

concerning of conducting scienti

f

ic studies of

the ancient life form encountered on Earth as

based on fossils formation. Within evolutionary

biology

f

ield of researches and studies, the

time parameter has long been considered the

province of the paleontologist. Strictly speaking,

this is not completely true. Time itself could be

considered as it is just as elusive parameter for

the paleontologist, as it is as well for anybody

else.

Paleontologists do not traffic in time

themselves, but rather in events arrayed

in time, in processes occurring over time,

and in techniques for the measurement and

representation of time. That said, paleontology

does have something distinctive to contribute

to our understanding of the deep past, namely

its ability to draw justi

f

iable inferences about

the temporal sequence of events in the history

of life. Although, absolute dating based on

radioactive decay of atomic nuclei and other

physical methods have made it possible to get

better and great estimates of the ages of rocks

and fossils, paleontology throughout its history

has reconstructed the history of life without

explicit consideration of duration (Fig.02),

but rather by using the relative positions and

presumed temporal sequence of fossil bearing

strata, and the biological affinities among

the fossil remains those strata contain.

Despite re

f

inements in absolute dating,

and the introduction of molecular methods, the

fossil and event-based relative timescale have

remained the backbone of the paleontological

conception of time. Time in paleontology

presents a menu of philosophical issues: the

phenomenology of time, the nature of relative

and absolute time, and the epistemic issues

arising out of attempts to reconstruct the past

from its present-day traces. We will begin by

contemplating the phenomenology of time in

the work of the practicing paleontologist. From

176 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 02:145 million years old, world famous - berlin Archaeopteryx second specimen (replica)

at LKCNHM- Singapore. Image © Aravinda Ravibhanu 2017.

research in the psychology of time perception,

we know that our sense of time is event-based

(Resnick et al., 2012).

Thus, our general sense of time arises out

of the

f

irst-person perspective we have on our

lived experience, augmented by re

f

lection on

the events of history. Yet these senses of time

are inadequate to paleontology. Consider that

the oldest known fossils on Earth, of anaerobic

bacteria, were found in Australian rocks dated

3.4 billion years before present (Wacey et al.,

2011). The timespan over which the events

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 177

studied by paleontologists have occurred is

so vast as to merit its own designation, Deep

Time (McPhee, 1981; Rickles’s Chap. 11 in

this volume). Deep Time dwarfs the timescales

humans are cognitively equipped to deal with. It

is immeasurably long compared to the entire span

of human history. So, the question is whether

anyone can truly grasp Deep Time. E

ff

orts to

do so nearly always make use of appropriately

scaled spatial metaphors. It is a standard part

of the undergraduate training of geologists to

produce some spatially extended model (e.g., a

ruler, a roll of toilet paper, a piano keyboard)

such that the vastness of Deep Time can be

compared to the mere hair’s breadth (or less)

of human history that blemishes the end of it.

Spatializing time serves two roles. Existentially,

the exercise puts us in our place: as a species,

we are a relatively recent addition to Earth’s

biosphere. Cognitively and heuristically, space

often stands in for time itself in the scienti

f

ic

work of the paleontologist.

GEOLOGY OF SRI LANKA

More than 90% of Sri Lanka’s surface lies

on Precambrian strata, some of it dating back

to two billion years. The granulite facies rocks

of the Highland complex (gneisses, sillimanite-

graphite gneisses, quartzite, marbles, and some

charnockites) make up most of the island, and

the amphibolite facies gneisses, magnetite,

granites, and granitic gneisses of the Vijayan

complex occur in the eastern and southeastern

lowlands. Jurassic sediments are present today

in very few areas near the western coast (Vanni

Complex), and Miocene limestones underlie the

northwestern part of the country and extend to

the south in a relatively narrow belt along the

west coast (Fig. 03A) (Cooray, 1984; Cooray

and Katupotha 1991; Katupotha and Dias 2001).

The metamorphic rock surface was created by

the transformation of ancient sediments under

intense heat and pressure during the mountain-

building processes. The theory of plate tectonics

suggests that these rocks and related rocks

forming most of south India were part of a

single southern landmass called Gondwanaland.

The beginning occurred about 200 million

years ago, the impressive forces within the

earth’s mantle began to separate the lands of

the Southern Hemisphere, and it have been

results in the locomotion of a crustal plate that

supported both India and Sri Lanka which have

caused this plate to move toward the northeast.

About 55 million years ago, the Indian plate

collided with the Asian landmass, that have

promoted the raising of the Himalayas in

northern India area, we need to mention as well

that this phenomenon is continuing to accrue

in an advanced level slowly but surely till the

present time (Fig. 03B).

However, this impressive movement and

relocation of the crustal plate didn’t result

in frequent nature catastrophes in this area,

therefore, Sri Lanka does not experience or

recorded earthquakes or major volcanic eruption

events because it rides located speci

f

ically on the

center of the plate. The island contains relatively

limited strata of sedimentation surrounding its

ancient uplands. Aside from recent deposits

along river valleys, only two small fragments

of Jurassic (140 to 190 Myr) sediment occur in

Puttalam District. In contrast, a more extensive

belt of Miocene (5 to 20 Myr) limestone is

found along the northwest coast, overlain in

many areas by Pleistocene deposit (Cooray and

Katupotha 1991; Katupotha and Dias 2001,

Katupotha 2019). The northwest coast is part

of the deep Cauvery (Kaveri) River Basin of

southeast India, which has been collecting

sediments from the highlands of India and Sri

Lanka since the breakup of Gondwanaland.

Quaternary Period in Sri Lanka

Quatematy is the era. which saw the

appearance of mankind. There is disagreement

over the duration, with some Scientists retaining

a short-time scale (600,000 years) while a

majority accepting the long time-scale of 1.8 to

2.0 million years. It comprises two epochs - the

Pleistocene and the Holocene. The Pleistocene

epoch in Sri Lanka has been subdivided based

on di

ff

erent types of fossils. These subdivisions

are useful in the study of palaeorriagnetic

changes, geological formations and Paleolithic

cultures in Sri Lanka. Radiometric dating of

fossil coral and shells collected from the western

and southern coastal zone suggested mid and

178 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 03A: Simpli

f

ied geological map of Sri Lanka showing the main basement units and major

gem deposits. Adapted from Sajeev and Osanai (2004) and Dissanayake and Chandrajith (1999).

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 179

FIGURE 03B: (Left) New juxtaposition of Sri Lanka, the southern tip of India, and Madagascar

(encircled) in Gondwana. (Dissanayake and Chandrajith 1999). (Right) The position of Sri Lanka

in central Gondwana at 200 Ma (Emmel et al., 2012, Katupotha 2020).

late During the Holocene period rerecord have

documented three high sea-level episodes 6,240

yr B.P and 2,270 yr B.P (Fig. 03C).

FIGURE 03C: Eustatic 06

f

luctuation in Sri

Lankasince last-Glacial Maximum (Katupotha

1984 and 1995).

As well, during the early Holocene to LGM

and beyond the sea level found not reach the

Sabaragamuwa Basin, accordingly. However,

during the Holocene high sea level episode

the sea water did not entered to Kalu Ganga

Upper Lowlands, especially in Kuruwita and

Palmadulla basin area, but for the case of the area

covered by the fresh water marshes accordingly,

there is a need for further investigations on the

whole Quaternaty period through di

ff

erent

disciplines in order to reveal the nature of

the paleogeography, palaeoclimatology and

paleoecology of Sri Lanka (Katupotha 1994).

The Quaternary period is a part of the

geologic time scale which is helpful to

paleontologists for the description of the timing

and relationships of events in geologic history

(Fig. 04). The Quaternary Period is popular for

the many cycles of glacial and geomorphological

growth and retreat, the extinction of many

species of mega fauna, and the spread of

humans (Table 01 & 02) . This period is often

considered the “Age of Humans.” Homo erectus

appeared in Africa at the start of this period, and

as time marched on the hominid line evolved

and characterized of cranial capacity and higher

LP

230,000

Third -

ABSOLUTE PROVISIONAL NORTH ALPS NORTH SRI

DATING NUMERICAL AMERICA EUROPE LANKA

ORDER

Present

H

-

10,300

10,300 Main LATE

17,000 Interglacial WISCONSIN Late Wurm

17,000 Last Glaciation MAIN

30,000 WISCONSIN Main Wurm

30,000

50,000

50,000 WISCONSIN Early Wurm Weichselian Normal 6

75,000 Humid 6

67,000 - Last - Sangamanian Uznach Eemian Normal 5

128,000 Interglacial Humid 5

128,000 - Forth Glaciation ILLINOIAN RISS II WARTHE Humid 4

180,000 RISSI SAALE

180,000 Interglacial Yarmouth Hotting Holstein Normal 3

230,000 Third Glaciation KANSAN MINDAL ELSTER Humid 3

300,000

300,000 Second Aftonian Normal 2

330,000 Interglacial

330,000 Second - NEBRASKAN GUNZ PRE-ELSTER Humid 2

470,000 Glaciation

470,000 Waalian Normal 1

538,000

538,000 First - PRE - DONAU II WEYBOURNE Humid 1

548,000 Glaciation NEBRASCAN

548,000 Tiglian

EP

585.000

585,000 DONAU I RED CRAG

600,000

e 600,000 Villa frannuchian

2,000,000

180 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

TABLE 01: Subdivisions of the Quaternary in the Main Glacial Areas.

NOTE: Named interglacial are underlined. Source: Fairbridge 1968; H - Holocene, LP - Late

Pleistocene, MP - Middle Pleistocene, EP - Early Pleistocene (Katupotha, 1994).

0.01 m.y.

22.5 - 5

m.y.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 181

TABLE 02: Formations and Events in the Cenozoic Era in Sri Lanka

ERA SYSTEM EPOCH EVENT/FORMATION

ERA

P

H

A C

N E

E N

R O

O Z

Z I

I C

C

Holocene Post-glacial sea level rise, drowning of continental shelf.

to Present Younger Group - beach and dune deposits, beach rock,

lagoon and esturine clays, alluvium, buried and emerged

coral reefs, beaches, lagoons formed

Pleistocene Marked sea level

f

luctuations, submergence canyons cut or

2 m.y. developed. Older Group Red Beds, gravels, raised beach and

dune deposits, laterite, nodular ironstone

Pliocene Uplift and erosion

2 - 5 m.y.

TERTIARY Miocene Limestone facies on northwest and north; a renaccous facies

on southest. Tectonic control of sedimentation, with step

faulting common, Submergence, separation from India.

Sources : Cooray and Katupotha, 1991; Katupotha, 1988b, c; Swan, 1982.

TABLE 03: Approximate Dating and Events of the Quaternary Period.

Blytt-sernander

Classi

f

ication

Late-Subatlantic -

600 yr B.P.

Present climate -

1,000 yr B.P.

Early-Subatlantic -

1,600 yr B.P.

-2,000 yr B.P.

-2,300 yr B.P.

Late-Subboreal

-3,000 yr B.P.

Early-Subboreal

-4,000 yr B.P.

-4,300 yr B.P.

Main Atlantic -

5,500 yr B.P.

European/ Yr B.P.

alps

Historic <1,000

Viking

1,000-

2,300

Roman

Iron age

2,300-

Bronze age

3,700

3,700-

Neolithic 5,300

5,300-

6,600

Mid-latitude

Temperature

Departures

(C0)

-10

+0.50

+10

-0.50

+10

+20

-0.50

Eustatic

phases and

elevation

(in meter)

E (-2)

S (60cm)

S (-2)

S (1.5-2)

E (-3)

S (+3)

E (-4)

Geological Formation and

archaeological event in

Sri Lanka

Estuarine deposits; Aryan

settlement

Estuarine deposits

Estuarine deposits (inland

fossil corals, coastal swamp

deposits emerged reef

patches)

Estuarine deposits (inland

fossil shells), emerged

beachrock.

Estuarine deposits (inland

fossil shells), coastal

swamp deposits) emerged

beachrock.

Estuarine deposits (inland

fossil shells), emerged

beachrock.

182 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

TABLE 03: Contd,

Blytt-sernander

Classi

f

ication European/ Yr B.P.

alps Mid-latitude

Temperature

Departures

(C0)

Eustatic

phases and

elevation

(in meter)

Geological Formation and

archaeological event in

Sri Lanka

-6,500yr B.P.

Early Atlantic -

7,000 yr B.P.

Late Boreal

-7,500 yr B.P.

-8800 yr B.P.

Mesolithic

Meglemose

+2.50

6,600- +10

7,500

+20

7,500 -

8,700 +0.50

+10

S (3-5) Estuarine/Marine deposits

(inland fossil corals, coastal

swamp deposits, emerged

reef patches) +1.5m or

more higher sea-level than

at present,

f

lourishing of

lateritization.

E (-10) Rising of sea-level,

submergence of near-shore

forests

S Rising of sea-level

WURM FLANDRIAN

Younger Drayas Scandinavian 10,300 - +30

morain 10,900

(W lle)

E(-25) Arod Phase, Balangoda

culture (Neo-lithic 10,000

yr B.P.)*

Alterod mild 10,900 - -20

11,800

Scandinavian 11,800 - -70

Brandenburg 17,500

morain (W llb)

- 17,500

E(-) 32-40

E(-) 45-60

E(-100)

Irananmadu late formation,

Balangoda culture (Late

Palaeolithic)

Palangaturei Arid Phase,

Red beds formation,

Balangoda culture,

Mesolithic*

Late Glacial Maximum,

Palangutrei Arid Phase, Red

bed formation Balangoda

culture, Mesolithic*

(W ll a/b

(W ll a

(W l/ll a

- 28,000

30,000 -

60,000

60,000 -

95,000

S (-) 100-10

S -135

S +3 or 4

Epimonastirium

Palangaturei Arid Phase,

Red beds formation,

Bundala dunes, Bellan-

bendi deposits, Late

Mesolithic*

Ratnapura Climatic Phase

III (Early Palaeolithic

-52,000 yr B.P.)

Ratnapura Climatic Phase

II Pathi-

rajawela deposits, forming

laterite

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 183

TABLE 03: Contd,

Blytt-sernander

Classi

f

ication European/ Yr B.P.

alps Mid-latitude

Temperature

Departures

(C0)

Eustatic

phases and

elevation

(in meter)

Geological Formation and

archaeological event in

Sri Lanka

Warthe (W I) 95,000 -

125,000 E -100

(or lower) Bundala-Levangoda gravel

(75,000-125,000 yr B.P.)

EEMIAN

(R/W)

RISS

SAALE (R)

GREAT

INTER

GLACIAL

G/M

MINDEL -

ELATER

(M)

INTER

GLACIAL

GUNZ

125.000-

235,000

235,000 -

360,000

360,000 -

670,000

670,000 -

780,000

780,000 -

900,000

900,000 -

1,150,000

E +7 or 8

Late Monastirium

E +18 Main

Monastirium

E-200

(or lower)

E +32 Late

Tyrrhenian

E +45 Early

Tyrrhenian

?

E + 60

Milazzaian

Ratnapura Climatic Phase,

Iranamadu early formation?

(140,000-180,000) Neo

tectonics?

Tectonic uplift ? (265,000 -

300,000)

Forming of laterite ?

?

INTER

GLACIAL

DONAU

(D)

1150,000 -

1,370,000

1,370,000 -

1,800,000

E + 80 ?

Sicilian

E + 150 ?

Late Calabrian

1,800,000

to

2,300,000 or

2,500,000

S + 180 Early ?

Calabrian

S = Submergence, E= Emergence, * Marine terrraces and sandstone (beachrock) formation

Sources : Deraniyagala, 1976, 1986; Fairbridge, 1968; HOlms, 1966; Katupotha, 1988 a,b; Katupotha

and Fujiwara, 1988; Katupotha and Wijayananda, 1989; Wijesekara, 1959 (Katupotha, 1994).

184 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 04: Creative approach on displaying geologic time © Ray Troll

intelligence. The Quaternary is divided into two

epochs: the Pleistocene and the Holocene as

oldest to youngest period (Katupotha 2014).

The Pleistocene Epoch is de

f

ined as the time

period that began about 2.6 million years ago

and lasted until about 11,700 years ago. But,

Katupotha expected this period to have lasted

around 10,300 (1988a, 1994, and Table 03).

It is indicated that the most recent Ice Age

occurred then, as glaciers covered huge parts of

the planet Earth. It was followed by the current

stage, called the Holocene Epoch (11,700 to

present day).

Fossils of extinct Pleistocene fauna in Sri

Lanka are mainly found in alluvium deposits

of the Sabaragamuwa area. In additionally

Pleistocene fossils are rarely found in the

Lunugala, Adawatte gem mines near Moneragala

and Badulla, and in the Kalametiya area in

southern Sri Lanka. These Pleistocene faunal

fossils are commonly found in the vicinity of

the Rathnapura region of Sri Lanka. Hence its

name is “Ratnapura Fauna” (Deraniyagala,

1958). Ratnapura deposits have mixed up via

the redeposition mechanism and these deposits

represent speci

f

ic time spots based on the most

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 185

FIGURE 05: The Himalayan system represent Grate Himalaya [> 4500m], Lesser Himalaya

[3500m- 4500m], Shivalik [900m 1500m] ©Subratachak web Journal 2017.

abounded faunal index. These three phases

have been named as Ratnapura Phases 01 as

Fossils of Hippopotamus (Lower and Middle

Pleistocene), Phases 02 as fossils of Rhinoceros

kagavena, and Elephas maximus sinhaleyus

(Upper Pleistocene), and Phases 03 as fossils of

faunal that have been extinct even in very earlier

at upper Pleistocene (Deraniyagala, 1958).

This Ratnapura fauna is anatomically

closely related to the Narmada and Shivalik

fossils fauna of India (Fig. 05). The earliest

Indian Shivalik fossils date back to the Miocene.

The Shivalik deposits of the Potwar Plateau and

adjacent areas are outstanding for their entombed

record of Neogene terrestrial vertebrates

of South Asia. Superposed Potwar deposits

contain many successive fossil assemblages

that provide a wealth of palaeobiological data

spanning 18 to 6 Ma, with dating resolved in

most cases to 100,000 years. Strata of the Zinda

Pir Dome to the southwest add complementary

early Miocene assemblages, and deposits east

of the Potwar contain important Pliocene faunas

(Flynn et al., 2016).

Considering few other Pleistocene fossil

deposits around the Asian region is similar to

the Ratnapura fauna. Specially, The Nerbudda

lake deposits of peninsular India that belong

to the middle Pleistocene and similar to the

Irrawaddy deposits of Burma (Falconer, 1859).

Paleo climate of both places are interglacial,

such as the present one, the climate warms and

the tundra recedes poleward following the ice

sheets.

There are many Pleistocene megafauna

that has been found at Kurnool cave a grouping

of caves near Betamcherla, Andhra Pradesh

represent partially similarity to Rathnapura

186 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 06: High Sea level

f

luctuation at Pleistocene and current environment view of

Sabaragamuwa basin from Gampaha, Ragama, Sri Lanka © Aravinda Ravibhanu.

fauna (Deraniyagala, 1958). Kurnool cave is

so signi

f

icant because they contain teeth and

artifacts of early man. Systematic excavations

revealed a rich fossil assemblage that has

a bearing on past climate, environment,

ecology, and migratory patterns of some of

the mammalian groups. The existence of thick

caves sediments and ideally situated rock

shelters, which are three to four meters above

ground level, suggest that detailed excavation

is likely to yield fossil remains of early man

(Prasad, 1996).

Megafauna bonebed of the Trinil site (Java,

Indonesia) belonged to the Lower/Middle

Pleistocene (Thomas et al., 2014). Considering

the fossils in Palestine called Bethlehem

fauna partially similar to Shivalik deposits.

(Deraniyagala, 1958).

The Ratnapura fossils represent no trace

of Lateralization which occurs under humid

tropical climate conditions. This is a prolonged

process of chemical weathering of rocks leading

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 187

FIGURE 07A: Lithological column of an alluvial gem deposit in Rathnapura gravel © Aravinda

Ravibhanu 2019.

188 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 07A: [Top] Vertical mining extraction gem pit. [Bottom] Open-pit sapphire mine near

Balangoda, a large one by Sri Lankan standards, had partially

f

illed with water from rains the week

before. Image© Andrew Lucas.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 189

to the formation of soil. It produces a variation

in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore

mineralogy of the rock creating soil particles.

The arrangement of the same lateralized beds

in the Ratnapura series suggested few climatic

f

luctuations like non laterite formation climate

present in Middle and Upper Pleistocene

(Fig. 06). However, redeposited fossils are

derived from beds of non-laterite and occur in

the upper-most or Holo -Pleistocene deposit

(Deraniyagala, 1958).

Means around the lower Pleistocene, there

are patterns to indicate red residual soil formed by

the leaching of silica and by the enrichment with

aluminum and iron oxides. Also, redeposition

has de

f

iantly mixed up two or more horizons

of di

ff

erent ages which are assignable to the

Middle, Upper and Holo-Pleistocene. A marine

and a non-marine assignable that will form a

tie in have yet to be discovered (Deraniyagala,

1958). Considering the zooarchaeological

pieces of evidence around the last three decades

in Sri Lanka, revealed facts of marine fossils

belong to the lower Pleistocene.

Most of Ratnapura Fauna occurs in

association with a gem stone, dominantly rubies

and sapphires. Over 90% of Sri Lanka’s gem

mining is from secondary placer deposits that

can be classi

f

ied as sedimentary gem deposits

of residual, eluvial and especially alluvial types

like Rathnapura beds (Fig. 7A & 7B). Primary

or in-situ gem occurrences are located mainly

in contact-metamorphic zones comprising of

skarn and calcium-rich rocks. Gem minerals

that are frequently found in pegmatites include

corundum, zircon, beryl, quartz varieties,

feldspar and chrysoberyl and possible to see

gem gravels at Getaheththa (Disanayake and

Rupasingha 1995).

But rubies and sapphires associated with

Ratnapura faunas are free of their pegmatite’s

matrix. This suggests that the disappearance of

FIGURE 08: Batadomba-lena pre historic cave, view from outside. Image © Aravinda Ravibhanu

2013.

190 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

the pegmatites from Sri Lankan Gem stones is

a comparatively recent occurrence while their

deposition apparently occurred together with

a part of Rathnapura Fauna. Uranium analysis

of Hippopotamus and Elephas maximus molar

indicated that redeposition had occurred, mixing

up beds of di

ff

erent ages. Considering, whole

fauna community belongs to Ratnapura fauna

suggests that it inhabited savannah country

possessing extensive bodies of water, while the

mountains probably supported forests that were

no di

ff

erent to present conditions (Roberts et al.,

2015; Sumanarathna et al., 2016; Wedage et al.,

2019).

When Ratnapura fauna dies around the

holocoen and Pleistocene period, most of the

body parts are typically decay completely.

But sometimes, when the conditions are just

right for the fossilization process, preserved

as fossils. Especially animal dies in a watery

environment and is buried in mud and silt like

Ratnapura beds. Soft tissues quickly decompose

leaving the hard bones or shells behind. Water

seeps into the remains, and minerals dissolved

in the water seep into the spaces within the

remains, where they form crystals. Also, the

minerals in groundwater replace the minerals

that make up the bodily remains after the water

completely dissolves the original hard parts

of the organism. A similar incident was easily

identi

f

ied via fossils

f

lora in the Sabaragamuwa

basin. Considering the Prehistoric Caves in

the Sabaragamuwa basin and the area of a

range of mountains around it, representing one

of the most important fossils belongs to the

Pleistocene and Holocene fauna in Sri Lanka.

Of these, Fahien Cave: 48,000 yrBP, Kuruwita-

Batadomba-lena Cave: 37,000 yrBP, Kitulgala

Beli-lena Cave: 31,000yrBP, Alawala Potgul-

lena Cave: 14,000 yrBP and Bellanbendi

Pelassa, as an open prehistoric human habitat in

Udawalawe: 12,000 yrBP. (Deraniyagala, 1992;

Perera, 2010; Adikari, 1998 and Bandaranayake,

1994; Premathilake & Risberg,2003).

Batadomba-lena Cave (Fig. 08) is very

unique which is located in the front head of the

Sabaragamuwa basin in the southern slop of the

highland mountains range.

The

f

irst excavation of Batabomba-lena by

Deraniyagala (P.E.P) was conducted in 1938.

The

f

inds included fragmentary human remains

and stone artifacts. The excavation was of 4 feet

and deraniyagala assigned the assemblage of

stone artifacts, in particular, the association of

microliths and human remains, to the Balangoda

phase. A preliminary examination was made

by Deraniyagala (S.U) in 1979 revealed a rich

occupational deposit. Thereafter, an excavation

of 2.6 m was conducted.

The stratigraphic sequence of seven main

occupational layers and 3 underlying strata

directly above bed rock has been described by

Deraniyagala in 1982. Layers 1 – 3 from the

top downwards were considered to have been

described in recent times by the extraction of

guano fertilizer for village paddy

f

ields, and

leaving of the

f

loor by monks who used to live in

the rock shelter. The occupational deposited in

layer 4 was described as a massive homogenous

stratum with brownish sand and silt containing

stone artifacts and faunal remains. Layers 5

and 6 were considered to be the site’s major

occupational layer 7 contains many stone

artifacts including geometric microliths which

were radiocarbon dated to approx. 30,000 years

BP. Deraniyagala named the prehistoric man

of Sri Lanka as a new subspecies called Homo

sapiens balangodensis based on the frontal

bone found during the excavation of the Ravana

Falls prehistoric cave in 1945 (Deraniyagala,

1945). He has compiled several dental and

osteological variations of this Homo sapiens

balangodensis subspecies, comparing the skulls

and other skeletal fragments of the Sinhalese

and Tamils as well as the Vedda people living in

this country today (Deraniyagala, 1945).

In additionally other human remains from

caves at Kuruvita and Telulla (Deraniyagala,

1955) and

f

inally from a kitchen midden cum

burial mound at Bellan Biindi Piiliissa which

yielded skeletal remains of ten individuals some

of which were fragmentary. All were in

f

lexed

postures and in association with a wealth of stone,

bone and antler artifacts (Deraniyagala, 1957a

:1957b). This Homo sapiens balangodensis

mentioned by Deraniyagala is known by the

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 191

FIGURE 09: (Left) Chopper stone artefacts of Rathnapura culture from Gem pit.

FIGURE 10: (Right): Weathered pitted artefacts of Home sapiens Location-Kuruvita © SMKA.

Image ©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2020.

FIGURE 11:Balaingoda point from Balangoda

culture in Sri Lanka | Location -Kuruvita ©

SMKA. Image ©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2020.

FIGURE 12: Bone Point with attached

neck surface from Balangoda culture Sri

Lanka | Location -Kuruvita © SMKA. Image

©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2020.

192 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 13: A view of Sabaragamuwa basin from “Balana Gala”, technically view point at the

middle of vithana-kanda trail to Batadomba-lena Cave. Image ©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2013.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 193

FIGURE 14: Modi

f

ied 3D view of Sabaragamuwa ©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2020.

194 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 15: The actual land form around the Sabaragamuwa Basin (Specially 10km radius from

Kuruvita) is about 20m-30m below than today, because of land is heavily eroded. This modi

f

ied 3D

view of Sabaragamuwa Basin which represent current altitude and 2×105 yrBP altitude ©Aravinda

Ravibhanu 2020.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 195

FIGURE 16: Paleo environment reconstruct of Sabaragamuwa basin via synchronizing geo

morphological factors of Shivalik and Ratnapura. ©Aravinda Ravibhanu 2020.

196 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 17: Elevation topographic map of Sabaragamuwa province © Sachith & Katupotha 2021.

simple common name of Balangoda Man.

According to the research conducted by the

American anthropologist, Professor Kenneth

Kennedy and Dr. Siran Deraniyagala reviled

this human being has been identi

f

ied as a

modern human and not as another subspecies.

According to the prehistoric excavations

carried out by the Department of Archeology

and the Postgraduate Institute of Archeology

at the University of Kelaniya over the past four

decades, it is clear that the Balangoda human

Era dates back to approximately 40,000 years

ago and 3800 years today (Deraniyagala, 1992;

Perera, 2010).

Balangoda Man is a Homo sapiens which

is dominantly represented the Mesolithic

period via stone tool technology (Fig. 09 – 12).

Information thatthey lived in Sri Lanka has been

obtained from the prehistoric settlements as

rock shelter and open habitat mentioned above.

These humans made geometric microliths by

applicable quartz (Perera, 2010 and 2011).

The Balangoda man of the Middle Ages

made tools out of animal bones and they were

mostly pointed called bone points. These humans

provided their food by hunting and gathering,

as well as Asian palm civet species, Bu

ff

aloes,

grizzled giant squirrel, tortoises, hamburgers,

rabbits, frogs, as well as turtles, pythons, lizards,

wild boars, hawksbills, deer and sambar deer

was added to their diet includes aquatic snails

(Palodomus sp.) and tree snails are also part of

their diet which includes Canarium zeylanicum,

Artocarpus nobilis, Elaeocarpus sp.

It is noteworthy that a large number of fossils

belonging to the Pleistocene period were found

in the vicinity of the Sabaragamuwa Basin (Fig.

13). The Sabaragamuwa Basin extends from

Getahetta to Eheliyagoda, Kuruwita, Ratnapura,

Pelmadulla, Godakawela and Rakwana. Those

fossils can be found in the forest ecosystem as

well as inland wetland and agro-ecosystems in

the Sabaragamuwa Basin (Fig. 14 – 16).

Considering the current climatic conditions

of Ratnapura’s region is classi

f

ied as tropical.

The rainfall in Ratnapura is signi

f

icant, with

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 197

precipitation even during the driest month which

could be so similar to the highest interglacial

time in the late Pleistocene. The present climate

here is classi

f

ied as Af by the Köppen-Geiger

system. The average annual temperature in

Ratnapura is 24.3 °C (75.7 °F). The rainfall here

is around 4460 mm (175.6 inches per year).

However, the present river terraces around

the Sabaragamuwa basin, do not provide as

much information as a drier region. Traces of

such terraces are scattered along the Kalani

river as patches of ancient gravelly alluvium

between Kaduwela and Hanvella, Malvana,

Palugama, Mapitigama (Deranigalagala 1958)

excepting few tributary valleys like Puugoda.

Vestigial beds of high-level gravels occur in the

vicinity of Sithawaka.

The old Ratnapura alluvial gravel occurs

belong the gem gravel in the Kuruvita area and

the old lacustrine alluvium occur at 20m to 27m

as bedded clays (Fig. 14 -15), silts, and gravel

(Deraniyagala,1958). However, currently, there

are few records similarity factors that can be

seen unit 50m to 60m includes clear deposition

of fossils which mix-up with the gem gravels

(Fig. 15).

Fossils of Sabaragamuwa Basin – Sri Lanka

Family Felidae | Panthera leo sinhaleyus

(extinct)

Panthera leo (the lion) fossils laid upon

the gem

f

ield at a depth of 6.5m below the

surface from a gem pit about four miles away at

Pahala Vela, Galadande Mandiya, Gonapitiya,

Kuruwita near the Kuru Ganga. The holotype is

a third lower left carnassial in the Deraniyagala

collection at the British Museum (Deraniyagala,

1958). This race is restricted to Sri Lanka;

originally the lion appears to have inhabited

Sri Lanka and India and was possibly replaced

by the Bengal tiger that invaded India from the

Northeast.

The similarity between the African name

is “Simba” meaning Lion, and the Indian

equivalent Simha suggests that one is derived

from the other. The lack of lion fossils in Africa

suggests that the African is derived from the

Indian Panthera leo sinhaleyus also known as

the Sri Lankan Lion, which was a prehistoric

subspecies of lion, known to be endemic to

Sri Lanka (Fig. 18). It appears to have become

extinct prior to the arrival of the modern human

culture, which was estimated to be around

39,000 years ago.

This lion is only known from two teeth, found

in alluvial deposits at Kuruwita. Deraniyagala

cited fossils of three lion teeth found from the

island;

f

irst in 1936, second in 1947 and the third

in 1961. Manamendra-Arachchi et al. (2005)

described that Deraniyagala did not explain

explicitly how he diagnosed the holotype of

this subspecies as belonging to a lion, though he

justi

f

ied its allocation to a distinct subspecies of

a lion by its being “narrower and more elongate”

than those of recent lions in the British Natural

History Museum collection.

The lion has been one of the most widespread

mammals, having enjoyed a Pleistocene range

that included Africa, Eurasia, North America

and tropical South America, while the fossil

record con

f

irms that the species range in the

Indian subcontinent did extend south to the

21º N and east to 87º E (Pilgrim 1931; Dutta

1976), approximately a line joining Gujurat to

Bengal, but there is no evidence of the existence

of the lion in Asia east of Bengal or anywhere

in peninsular India and Sri Lanka, except for

Panthera leo sinhaleyus. Panthera leo fossilis,

also known as the Early Middle Pleistocene

European cave lion, is an extinct feline of the

Pleistocene epoch.

Family Felidae | Panthera tigris (extinct)

Panthera tigris is a member of the Felidae

family and the largest of four “big cats” in

the genus Panthera. The Panthera tigris tigris

(Bengal tiger) is a tiger subspecies native to

India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The

pattern of genetic variation in the Bengal tiger

corresponds to the premise that tigers arrived

in India approximately 12,000 years ago.

Kitchener and Dugmore (2000) considered

that the changing biogeographical range of

the Panthera tigris through the last glacial-

interglacial cycle, based on habitat associations

of modern tiger specimen records, and

environmental reconstructions from the LGM.

198 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

These cycles indicate that the numerous

glacial cycles that span the evolutionary history

of the tigers since their appearance in the fossil

record about 2 Myr ago and the oldest tiger

fossils (around 2 Myr old) are from northern

China and Java. The key issue is to determine

the extent to which ancestral populations of the

tiger were geographically isolated. However,

Pleistocene glacial and interglacial

f

luctuations

and other geological events probably caused

repeated geographic restrictions and expansions

of tigers (Hemmer,1987; Kitchener and

Dugmore, 2000) estimated the most recent

common ancestor for tiger mt DNA haplotypes

was 72,000–108,000 years ago, with a lower

and upper bound of 39,000 years and 157,000

years, respectively.

The recent history of tigers in the Indian

subcontinent is consistent with the lack of tiger

fossils from India prior to the late Pleistocene

and the absence of tigers from Sri Lanka, which

was separated from the subcontinent by rising

sea levels in the early Holocene. However, a

recent study of two independent fossil

f

inds

from Sri Lanka, one dated to approximately

16,500 years ago, tentatively classi

f

ies them

as being a tiger (Manamendra-Arachchi et al.,

2005).

However, the discovery of the Ratnapura

tiger in alluvium, together with hippopotamus

and rhinoceros fossils, demonstrates that tigers

did indeed occur on the island. Nine fossils

and sub fossils were identi

f

ied that belong to

Tiger. Five of the fossils dated among those and

identi

f

ied 14,000 – 20,000 years old. One fossil

that belonged to Lion was identi

f

ied. The tiger

was living 17,000 years ago (Manamendra-

Arachchi, 2010). The Holocene range of the

tiger extends to the southernmost tip of the

peninsular of India and to all of the tropical

continental of Asia. The apparent absence of

evidence of tigers in Sri Lanka and Pleistocene

peninsular India has led to the conclusion that

tigers arrived in south India “too late to get into

Ceylon” (Pocock, 1930) as a result of the India-

Sri Lanka land bridge having been submerged

since the Late Pleistocene. Based on the few

known Indian tiger fossils dating back to the

Holocene period and mentioned as well in

the recent literature, the records provide dates

of the arrival of tigers to the Indian peninsula

that have documented to have occurred during

the last glacial maximum, ca. 19,000 years BP

(Sumanarathna et al., 2016) (Fig. 18 – 20).

FIGURE 18: Most probably lower right canine tooth of Panthera leo sinhaleyus | Location:

Ravibhanu 2019.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 199

FIGURE 19: Panthera leo sinhaleyus & 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa

Ravibhanu, Adeepa Nisal 2019.

200 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 19:Panthera tigris & Elephas maximus maximus via 3D reconstructed paleo environment

Ravibhanu 2019.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 201

Panthera tigris probably di

ff

erentiated in

the early Pleistocene (1.806–2.588 Ma ago)

in northcentral and northeastern China. The

earliest forms averaged smaller than those of

later Pleistocene times. Thus, it seems that the

species has reached its maximum size in the

living subspecies P. tigris altaica. The early

Pleistocene species Panthera palaeosinensis,

from northern China, appears to represent

an early tiger or a form ancestral to the tiger

(Mazak, 1981).

Researches on fossil remains have been

conducted by many scientists, for example,

Mazak (1981) summarized the fossils records

in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, fossil remains,

de

f

initely identi

f

ied as Panthera tigris, are of

lower to upper Pleistocene age and originated

from the Altai caves in central Asia, eastern

and northern China, including Choukoutien

localities, Japan, Jana River in northern Siberia,

the Ljachov Island situated o

ff

the northern

coast of Siberia, and from Sumatra and Java.

In addition, several sub-recent tigers remain

were found in the Caucasus region, India, and

Borneo. It is not clear whether the material from

Borneo represents a member of the native late

Pleistocene fauna or a later introduction by

humans (there is no reliable evidence of tigers

on Borneo within historic times).

Family Elephantidae | Elephas maximus

sinhaleyus (extinct)

The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is

one of the most seriously endangered species of

large mammals in the world. Given its enormous

size and body mass, it is also one of the few

species of terrestrial mega herbivores that still

exist. Its present geographical distribution

extends from the Indian subcontinent in the west

to Indo-China in the east across 13 countries

including islands such as Sri Lanka, Sumatra

and Borneo. The entire population in the wild

is estimated to be between 35,000 and 55,000.

Even optimistic

f

igures indicate that there are

only about one tenth as many Asian as African

elephants (Hendavitharana et al., 1994).

Deraniyagala found one Fossil and explained

the extinct Sri Lankan elephant as subspecies

of Elephas maximus sinhaleyus (Deraniyagala,

1958; Sumanarathna et al., 2016) (Fig. 23-

46). Deraniyagala explained the tusks are

usually present, molars smaller and mandibular

spout wider than in forma typical. In addition,

he explained that there were three recently

extinct subspecies of Elephas maximusasurus

(Mesopotamia), Elephas maximus eondaicus

(Java) and Elephas maximus rubridens (China).

The extinct elephant species that were

living 100,000 years ago have been reported as

Hypselephas hysudricus sinhaleyus (Fig. 22)

by Deraniyagala (1914, 1937) and as Elephas

hysudricus by Manamendra-Arachchi (2008).

Elephas maximus sinhaleyus was secured in

1947 from a gem pit about four miles away at

Pahala Vela, Galadande Mandiya, Gonapitiiya,

Kuruwita near the Kuru Ganga. The fossils

were laid upon the gem

f

ield at a depth of 6.5m

below the surface, and yielded Elephas maximus

sinhaleyus (Deraniyagala, 1958). It frequently

occurs in association with hippopotamus fossils

from Gatahatta as far as Ratnapura, and with

rhinoceros from Gatahatta to Pelmadulla.

The origin of Elephas maximus remained

unknown until 1936, when its fossils were

discovered in Sri Lanka, and even as recently

as 1942 the general opinion was that nothing

was known of its origin except that it appeared

suddenly rather late in the age of man. It is true

that a few isolated fossils proboscidean molars

were assigned to an extinct Japanese race of

this elephant named Elephas maximus buski

(Deraniyagala, 1958), however, those belong

to Palaooloxodon namadicua naumanni and no

Elephas maximus fossils were found in Japan.

In various other countries also isolated and

often fragmentary teeth have been ascribed to

Elephas maximus, but in every instance these

have proved to be either those of the extinct

Palaeoloxodon namadicus (Fig. 21) or the

remains of some subspecies of Elephas maximus

that had become extinct during prehistoric

or historic times. Since its earliest remains

occur only in Sri Lanka, Elephas maximus

apparently evolved from some Plio-Quaternary

proboscidean, which had become isolated here

upon the Island’s separation from Asia. During a

Pleistocene reconnection with India, the Ceylon

animal had invaded the mainland and wandered

202 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 21: Palaeoloxodon namadicus sinhaleyus is one of extinct elephant species in Sri Lanka.

northwards until it encountered the Himalayan

mass if, whereupon it had spread along its base

eastwards as far as Wallace’s line (Wallace’s

Line is a boundary that separates the eco-

transitional zone between Asia and Australia).

West of the line is found organisms related to

Asiatic species; to the east, a mixture of species

of Asian and Australian origin is present, and

westwards until checked by the Mediterranean

Sea and the deserts of Arabia and North Africa.

Over this vast expanse in a belt stretching from

40 degrees north to 10 degrees south, land

subsidence, changing river systems, deepening

river gorges and expanding deserts, assisted

the mountain ranges as barriers, and resulted

in the evolution of twelve (12) subspecies

(Deraniyagala,1958).

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 203

FIGURE 22: Hypselephas hysudricus sinhaleyus is one of extinct elephant species in Sri Lanka.

204 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 23: Palaeoloxodon namadicus sinhaleyus and Crocodylus sinhaleyus 3D reconstructed

paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin. | Location: Kahengama- Ovita kubura, Kuruwita.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 205

FIGURE 24: A piece of elephant tooth [Elephas maximus maximus] [vertical braking down via

206 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 25: A eroded piece of elephant molar tooth [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 207

FIGURE 26: Eroded and piece of elephant tusk [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location: Kuruvita

208 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 27:Molar tooth of elephant tusk [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location: Ma wee Kubura,

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 209

FIGURE 28: Piece of elephant molar [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location: Kuruvita | Depth:

210 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 29: Elephant upper molar [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location: Kuruvita | Depth: 45ft.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 211

212 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 31: Piece of elephant tooth [Elephas maximus maximus] | Location: Kuruvita | Depth:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 213

FIGURE 32: Piece of elephant molar tooth [Elephas maximus maximus.] | Location: Kahingama,

214 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 33: Piece of elephant molar tooth [Elephas sp.] | Location: Kahingama, Kuruvita | Depth:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 215

FIGURE 34: Piece of elephant molar tooth [Elephas maximus maximus] showing digitations on

Ravibhanu 2019.

216 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 217

218 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 219

FIGURE 38: Piece of elephant molar tooth (plate) and eroded wear enamel

f

igure from anterior

side [Most probably Elephas maximus sinhaleyus or Palaeoloxodon namadicus sinhaleyus] |

2019.

220 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 39: Piece of elephant molar tooth (plate)with enamel loop from anterior side [Most

probably Palaeoloxodon namadicus sinhaleyus or Hypselephas hysudricus sinhaleyus] | Location:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 221

FIGURE 40: Showing digitations on the 3 plates; of elephant molar tooth [Elephas sp.] | Location:

222 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 41: Individual 3 plates as a pieces of elephant molar tooth [Elephas sp.] | Location:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 223

224 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 43: Most probably Elephant [Elephas sp.] plate of molar tooth | Location: Kuruvita |

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 225

FIGURE 44: Most probably Elephant [Elephas sp.] plate of molar tooth | Location: Kuruvita |

226 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE45:[Top] 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin in a wet conditions

includes Hypselephas hysudricus sinhaleyus. [Bottom] 3D reconstructed paleo environment of

Sabaragamuwa basin in a partially dry conditions includes Palaeoloxodon namadicus sinhaleyus

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 227

FIGURE 46: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Elephas

228 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

Family Rhinocerotidae | Rhinoceros

The rhinoceros’ family is characterized

by its large size (one of the largest remaining

megafaunas), with all of the species able to

reach one ton or more in weight; an herbivorous

diet; and a thick protective skin about 1.5–5 cm

thick, formed from layers of collagen positioned

in a lattice structure; relatively small brains for

mammals this size (400–600g); and a large horn.

They generally eat leafy material, although their

ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows

them to subsist on more

f

ibrous plant matter,

if necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the

African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the

front of their mouths, relying instead on their

powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind

up plant food. Both African species and the

Sumatran Rhinoceros have two horns, while the

Indian and Javan Rhinoceros have a single horn.

Rhinoceros was living 80,000 years ago.

The most known fossil remains of

Rhinoceros unicornis are estimated apparently

to be dated to probably middle Pleistocene

period (Fig 47). The direct precursor of the

living Indian rhinoceros was Rhinoceros

unicornis fossilis (synonyms R.sivalensis and

R. palaeindicus), from the upper Shiwalik beds,

within the known historic range of the species.

Rhinoceros from the Narbada or Narmada

beds is probably synonymous with Rhinoceros

unicornis Rhinoceros kendengindicus from Java

was closely related to the present species and

should probably be regarded as a subspecies of

it.

FIGURE 47: Javan and Indian rhino by CGTN Graphic and Rhinoceros unicornis at Kaziranga

Graphic.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 229

Rhinoceros unicornis kendengindicus

occurred in the Djetis and Trinil beds alongside

Rhinoceros sondaicus, but has not been found

in the Upper Pleistocene Ngandong deposits

where the latter is the only rhinoceros. The

various fossils of this genus from China can

be referred to two species: the Pleistocene

Rhinoceros sinensis Owen, which though in

many respects is intermediate between the two

living species, shows progressive characters

linking it to Rhinoceros unicornis and the Upper

Pliocene species Rhinoceros oweni Rmgstrom,

which was placed in a separate genus Sinorhinus

(Tong & Moigne, 2000). (Laurie et al., 1983).

Rhinoceros sinhaleyus and Rhinoceros kaga-

vena (extinct)

The scienti

f

ic

f

indings recorded about the

extinction rhinoceros in Sri Lanka, indicated

as two species which are as follow: Rhinoceros

sinhaleyus and Rhinoceros kagavena

(Deraniyagala, 1936) (Fig 48-58). Rhinoceros

sinhaleyus (Fig 55) which known to have

squarer and lower teeth shapes compared

with the teeth shape that is found to be more

rectangular-toothed of the Rhinoceros kagavena

use to be encountered in the Ratnapura fauna of

Sri Lanka (Deraniyagala, 1936).

Rhinoceros fossils were found during a gem

digging process that was conducted at the gem

pit from the Kuruwita gem pit, the depth where

this fossil was discovered was estimated to be

around 6.0m beneath from the ground surface at

Hiriliyadda, Talavitiya (Kuruwita), we need to

mention that this site which is undated, probably

belongs to the Middle Pleistocene geological

time scale (Deraniyagala, 1958). This form

provided by this discovered fossil shows few

characters that have leaded us to di

ff

erentiate

it from those found for the teeth of Rhinoceros

unicornis, and like the Javanese fossil occurs

alongside a race of Rhinoceros unicornis.

Rhinocerotidae of large heavyset

herbivorous perissodactyl mammals of Africa

and Asia that have one or two upright keratinous

horns on the snout and thick gray to brown skin

with little hair. The order Perissodactyla is only

represented in Sri Lanka by the superfamily

Rhinocerotidae.

FIGURE 48: Most probably molar tooth (lower)

Rhinoceros kagavena | Location: Waladura,

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FIGURE 49: Most probably proximal portion of scapula bone of Rhinoceros sp.| Location:

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 231

FIGURE 50: First upper molar tooth with eroded roots of Rhinoceros sinhaleyus.| Location:

Ravibhanu 2019.

232 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 51:Lower third molar tooth of Rhinoceros kagavena.| Location: Kahingama west, Kuburu

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 233

234 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 53: Most probably piece of vestibular of Rhinoceros kagavena.| Location: Kuruvita |

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 235

FIGURE 54: Second upper molar tooth of Rhinoceros sinhaleyus | Location:.Kuruvita | Depth:

236 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 55: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Rhinoceros

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 237

FIGURE 56: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Rhinoceros

238 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 57: Most probably Rhinoceros kagavena molar tooth. | Location:.Ekneligoda, Kuruvita |

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 239

FIGURE 58: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Rhinoceros

240 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

Family Hippopotamidae | Hexaprotodon

sinhaleyus, (extinct)

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus

amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek

for “river horse”, is a large, mostly herbivorous

mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only

two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae,

the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus. The

earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging

to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, roughly

16 million to 8 million years ago during

the Miocene epoch. After the elephant, the

hippopotamus is the largest land mammal and

the heaviest extant artiodactyls, despite being

considerably shorter than the gira

ff

e.

The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic,

inhabiting rivers and lakes where territorial

bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups

of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day

they remain cool by staying in the water or mud;

reproduction and childbirth both occur in water.

They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While

hippopotamus uses rest near each other in the

water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos

are not territorial on land.

In the ‘Pleistocene of Ceylon’Deraniyagala

(1936, 1939, 1944 and 1958) explains his

f

indings of Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus and

Hexaprotodon sivalensis sinhaleyus based on

gem pits in the Ratnanapura area about seven

kilometers away at Pahala Vela, Galadande

Mandiya, Gonapitiiya, and Kuruwita near the

Kuru Ganga (Sumanarathna et al., 2016) (Fig

59-67). The fossils were laid at a depth of 6.5m

below the surface. Accordingly, Deraniyagala

revealed the fossilized remains of the lower

jaws and teeth of a Sri Lankan hippopotamus.

The lower jawbone of the hippopotamus reveals

six incisor teeth, whereas the hippopotamus

that survives in Africa has only four incisors.

The extinct Ceylon hippopotamus has been

named the Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus, (Fig 67)

means consisted of six teeth in front includes

six permanent incisors as mentioned. Genera

is classi

f

ied as an extinct hippopotamus living

in the Pleistocene in Asian regions such as

Sri Lanka, India, Java, Syria and Burma.

Considering the Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus

fossils in Rathnapura beds, dominantly found

molars, incisor canine, premolar, zygomatic

arch, humerus, femur, ribs. Hexaprotodon

sinhaleyus is endemic to Sri Lanka and quite

similar to Hexaprotodon namadicus (extinct)

once lived in the Pleistocene in India. The change

in climate from heavy rainfall that fed numerous

large rivers and lakes to a more moderate

rainfall that reduced the island’s waterbodies

was probably responsible for the extinction of

the world’s second heaviest land mammal on

the island (Deraniyagala, 1958). The extinction

of this animal might have occurred sometime

shortly after the middle Pleistocene times,

since its nearest a relative, the extinct Indian

hippopotamus from former lake beds which

are now traversed by the Nerbudda (Narmada)

River, became extinct in Ionian times.

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 241

FIGURE 59: Piece of molar tooth of Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Waldura, Kuruvita |

242 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 60: Piece of molar tooth of Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Paradise gem pit,

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 243

FIGURE 61: Pieces of lower canine tooth - Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Ellawala,

244 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 62: Piece of metatarsal - Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Ovita Kubura, Kuruvita |

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 245

FIGURE 63: Piece of molar tooth - Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Eedandawala, Kuruvita |

FIGURE 64: Piece of molar tooth of Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Kuruvita | Depth: 65ft.

246 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 247

FIGURE 66: Pieces of lower canine tooth - Hexaprotodon sinhaleyus | Location: Ellawala,

248 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 67: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Hexaprotodon

June, 2021] FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN 249

Family Crocodylidae | Crocodylus sinhaleyus

(extinct)

The extinct crocodile species called

Crocodylus sinhaleyus has been nomenclature

by P.E.P Deraniyagala in 1953. This extinct

crocodilian that probably attained to a length

of 12ft; known from a single tooth, Colombo

National Museums No. F. 28 (Deraniyagala

1958). Considering the dimensions of specimen,

depth of tooth 43mm, diameter of base 19mm,

circumference of base 58mm. The distal

extremely of the pulp cavity is present and when

reconstructed the tooth will probably be about

95mm long (Deraniyagala 1958). This was

discovered on 17

th

of July 1939 from the gem

sand in a gem pit at tunhiriya vila, Gonavitiya,

Kuruvita from a depth of 12 feet together

with teeth of rhinoceros (Deraniyagala 1958).

Also, Crocodylus porosus minikanna which

is occasionally captured in sabaragamuwa

beds (Kalu gaga- river - near rathnapura)

was the only species around 1940 decades

(Deraniyagala 1953,1958). But currently only

the Crocodylus porosus lives in the Ratnapura

area (Sumanarathna et al., 2016) (Fig 68-69).

FIGURE 68: A tooth of Crocodylus sp. | Location: Kahengama,Ovitakubura, Kuruvita | Depth:

250 WILDLANKA [Vol. 9 No. 2

FIGURE 69: 3D reconstructed paleo environment of Sabaragamuwa basin includes Crocodylus

Family Suidae | Sus sinhaleyus (extinct)

First record of the Sus sinhaleyus by

Dearaniyagala (P.E.P) who published in Journal

of Royal Asiatic Soc. (Ceylon Br.) in 1947. The

article was based on

f

ive teeth that belonged

to di

ff

erent individuals as each was obtained

from a separate gem pit from Potgul _kanda

near Ratnapura. As he mentioned, the heel of

the third molar is less complex and the teeth

are considerably smaller and more brachydont

than in the

FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN

Abstract and Figures