Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The wildlife of Sri Lanka includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of biological endemism (16% of the fauna and 23% of flowering plants are endemic [ 1 ] ).
Sri Lankan freshwater habitats can be divided into 6 major types - river, stream, lake, pond, villu and paddy field - according to size, depth, rate of flow and type of bottom. Medium-sized rivers are called Oya and fast flowing streams torrential streams are called Dola in Sinhalese. The following list provide the freshwater fauna of Sri Lanka.
The Loris, found only in Sri Lanka and South India, is related to the Lemurs of Madagascar. The connection to India led to a commonality of species, e.g. freshwater fish, the now extinct Sri Lankan Gaur (Bibos sinhaleyus) and the Sri Lankan Lion (Panthera leo sinhaleyus). [5] The island was connected, off and on at least 17 times in the past ...
The following is a list of ecoregions in Sri Lanka. Due to High rainfall and even sunlight throughout the year, Sri Lanka exhibits a great variety in ecoregions in all living habitats. Together with Western Ghats, Sri Lanka forms Western Ghats and Sri Lanka hotspot. It is considered one of the eight super-hotspots. [1]
The country prefix "Sri Lanka" in common names is normally restricted to endemic species. However Sarath Kotagama et al. (2006) disagree with Sibley and Monroe (1990) on the use of "Ceylon" in common species' names, suggesting instead that they should reflect the change of the official English name of the island from Ceylon to name Sri Lanka. [ 3 ]
Being an island Sri Lanka lacks land area to supports large animals. [3] However fossil evidence of large archaic species of rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, and lions have been discovered. The flora and fauna of Sri Lanka is mostly understudied. [4] Therefore, the number of endemics could be underestimated.
The purple-faced langur is found in closed canopy forests in Sri Lanka's mountains and the southwestern part of the country, known as the "wet zone". Only 19% of Sri Lanka consists of forested areas. This habitat has decreased from 80% in 1980 to ~25% in 2001. [12] Currently, this range has decreased to below 3%.
All wildlife in sanctuaries are protected but the habitat is only protected in state-owned land, allowing human activities to continue on privately owned land. [1] Activities prohibited in sanctuaries include hunting, killing or removing any wild animal; destroying eggs/nests of birds and reptiles; disturbing of wild animals; and interfering in ...