Wildlife of Sri Lanka
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.
The most recent update on the Sri Lankan biodiversity was the 6th National Report of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Later in 2021, Professors Devaka Weerakoon and Amila Sumanapala released an updated list of taxa as of the end of 2020.
[3][4] Sri Lanka is home to roughly 123 species of mammals, 41 of which are threatened (9 critically).
[5] Flooding has led to increased human-crocodile conflict around the Nilwala River, with crocodiles often becoming trapped as floodwaters recede.
[citation needed] Sri Lanka is home to 227 species of birds (though some past estimates put it as high as 486[7]), 46 of which are threatened (10 critically).
[8] Lepidopterans, moths and butterflies, have the second largest number of species in Sri Lanka.
Hymenopterans, which includes ants, bees, wasps contribute to the third largest insect order in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka is home to 181 species of ants that included to 61 genera and 10 subfamilies.
True flies and mosquitoes belong to the order Diptera, of which there are many in Sri Lanka.
There are more than 1,341 dipterans found in the island, which makes it the fourth largest insect order.
Clear documentation of the species within Dermaptera can be found, which was initiated by Burr (1901) and Brindle (1972).
Information about species of the orders Thysanoptera, Neuroptera, Mecoptera, and Siphonaptera is very thin and more studies are required.
Sri Lanka comprises 74 species in 46 genera and 6 families of aphids within the order Hemiptera.
Five land snail genera, Ravana, Ratnadvipia, Acavus, Oligospira and Aulopoma are endemic to Sri Lanka with 14 species in them.
[12][13] Thirteen more genera such as Ruthvenia, Thysanota, Cryptozona, Euplecta, Mariaella, Eurychlamys, Corilla, Beddomea, Trachia, Leptopomoides, Micraulax, Tortulosa and Nicida are only in the Western Ghats of India and Sri Lanka.
The facts and checklists of these creatures date back to Newport in 1845, which is the first known study about centipedes.
[17] According to this checklist, Sri Lanka has 501 species of spiders belonging to 45 families and 213 genera.
In Sri Lanka, there are 39 regular echinoids belonging to 28 genera, 9 families, and 5 orders.
[18] Besides, there are 21 irregular echinoid species belonging to 4 orders, 9 families and 15 genera in Sri Lanka.
[24] In the same year, several other plants were first described: one species of seagrass: Halophila major and six species of liverworts; Lejeunea sordida, Leptolejeunea subdentata, Spruceanthus polymorphus, Frullania udarii, Heteroscyphus turgidus and Fuscocephaloziopsis lunulifolia.
With that, the total number of leafy liverwort species in Sri Lanka increased to 296 in 63 genera.
In the meantime, a species of fungus, Helvella crispa, was also identified from Sri Lanka.
