List of reptiles of Sri Lanka explained
This is a list of reptiles of Sri Lanka.
The reptilian diversity in Sri Lanka is higher than the diversity of other vertebrates such as mammals and fish with 181 reptile species. All extant reptiles are well documented through research by many local and foreign scientists and naturalists. Sri Lankan herpetologist, Anslem de Silva largely studied the biology and ecology of Sri Lanka snakes, where he documented 96 species of land and sea snakes.[1] Five genera are endemic to Sri Lanka - Aspidura, Balanophis, Cercaspis, Haplocercus, and Pseudotyphlops.[2] Out of them only five of the land snakes are considered potentially deadly and life threatening to humans. Among snakes, 54 are endemic to Sri Lanka.[3] The total increased to 107 with new descriptions of Dendrelaphis, Rhinophis, Aspidura and Dryocalamus.[4] [5] [6] [7]
Lizard diversity in the island has been documented and studied by many local scientists and researchers such as Imesh Nuwan Bandara,[8] Kalana Maduwage, Anjana Silva,[9] Rohan Pethiyagoda, and Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi.[10] There are 111 lizards known from Sri Lanka, with 17 newly discovered in 2006, and two more in 2016 and 2017.[11] [12] One of species was discovered in 2019 from Ensalwatta, Matara.[13] In 2019, seven more endemic day geckos have been discovered by Suranjan Karunaratne and Mendis Wickramasinghe.[14] [15] In December 2019, three more endemic geckos were discovered.[16] In May 2020, another endemic skink was discovered.[17] Three new day gecko species were discovered in 2021.[18] [19]
Apart from them, Sri Lanka is home to two species of crocodiles,[20] and nine species of turtles.[21]
This is a list of reptiles found in Sri Lanka.
Order: Squamata - scaled reptiles
Suborder: Serpentes - snakes
Family: Boidae - boas
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Sand boa | Eryx conicus | | |
Family: Elapidae - elapids
Family: Typhlopidae - blind snakes
Family: Uropeltidae - shield-tailed snakes
Family: Viperidae - vipers and pit vipers
Suborder: Lacertilia - lizards
Family: Agamidae - agamid lizards
Family: Chamaeleonidae - chameleons
| width=24% | Common name | width=24% | Binomial | width=24% | Status |
|---|
| Indian chameleon | Chamaeleo zeylanicus | | |
Family: Lacertidae - wall lizards
Family: Varanidae - monitor lizards
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Bengal monitor | Varanus bengalensis | Least concern |
| Water monitor | Varanus salvator | Least concern |
|
Order: Crocodilia - crocodiles
Family: Crocodylidae - true crocodiles
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Mugger crocodile | Crocodylus palustris | Vulnerable |
| Saltwater crocodile | Crocodylus porosus | Least concern | |
Order: Testudines - turtles
Family: Bataguridae - Asian terrapins
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Indian black turtle | Melanochelys trijuga | Near threatened | |
Family: Dermochelyidae - leatherback turtles
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Leatherback sea turtle | Dermochelys coriacea | Vulnerable | |
Family: Emydidae - American hard-shelled turtles
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Trinomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Red-eared slider | Trachemys scripta elegans | Near threatened | |
| width=20% | Common name | width=20% | Binomial | width=20% | Status |
|---|
| Indian star tortoise | Geochelone elegans | Least concern | |
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Snakes in Sri Lanka . 2 March 2014 . Amazing lanka . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: Genus-level phylogeny of snakes reveals the origins of species richness in Sri Lanka. 11 February 2013 . Novataxa. 3 February 2019.
- Web site: poisonous snakes in Sri Lanka . poisonous snakes in Sri Lanka blog . 28 November 2009 . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: Genus-level phylogeny of snakes reveals the origins of species richness in Sri Lanka . 11 February 2013 . Zootaxa . 11 March 2018.
- Web site: A new species of Aspidura Wagler, 1830 (Squamata: Colubridae: Natricinae) from Knuckles, World Heritage Site, Sri Lanka . Biotaxa . 25 February 2019.
- Web site: A new species of Dryocalamus (Serpentes: Colubridae) endemic to the rainforests of southwestern Sri Lanka. zootaxa.4748.2.2. 11 March 2020.
- Web site: A new species of Dendrelaphis Boulenger, 1890 (Reptilia: Colubridae) from the wet zone of Sri Lanka with a redescription of Dendrelaphis bifrenalis (Boulenger, 1890) . Taprobanica . 28 October 2017.
- Web site: Endemic Agamid Lizards of Sri Lanka . Sri Lanka Endemics . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: Hemipeneal Morphology of Sri Lankan Dragon Lizards . Ceylon Journal of Science . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi . Google Scholar . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: A Rock Dwelling Day-Gecko (Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from Salgala, an unprotected Lowland Rainforest in Sri Lanka . 14 September 2016 . Zootaxa . 11 March 2017.
- Web site: A New Species of Cnemaspis (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Knuckles Range of Sri Lanka . Zootaxa . 11 March 2017.
- Web site: http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_13_no_1/ARC_13_1_[General_Section_198-208_e177.pdf A new species of endemic day gecko (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from a wet zone forest in the second peneplain of Southern Sri Lanka ]. https://web.archive.org/web/20190714062412/http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_13_no_1/ARC_13_1_%5bGeneral_Section%5d_198-208_e177.pdf . dead . 14 July 2019 . Amphibian & Reptile Conservation . 11 March 2019 .
- Web site: Integrative taxonomy reveals six new species of day geckos of the genus Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887 (Reptilia:Squamata: Gekkonidae) from geographically-isolated hill forests in Sri Lanka . Vertebrate Zoology . 25 August 2019.
- Web site: http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_13_no_2/ARC_13_2_[General_Section_14-27_e187.pdf A new species of dwarf day gecko (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis) from lower-elevations of Samanala Nature Reserve in Central massif, Sri Lanka]. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation . 21 September 2019.
- Web site: http://amphibian-reptile-conservation.org/pdfs/Volume/Vol_13_no_2/ARC_13_2_[General_Section_323-354_e216.pdf Three new species of day geckos (Reptilia: Gekkonidae: Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from isolated granite cave habitats in Sri Lanka ]. Journal of Amphibian & Reptile Conservation. 2 January 2020.
- Web site: A new species of Lankascincus Greer, 1991 (Reptilia: Scincidae) with an overview of the L. gansi group . Taprobanica . 22 May 2020.
- A new species of day gecko (Reptilia, Gekkonidae, Cnemaspis Strauch, 1887) from Sri Lanka with an updated ND2 gene phylogeny of Sri Lankan and Indian species . 2021-03-21 . Zoosystematics and Evolution. 2021 . 10.3897/zse.97.60099 . Karunarathna . Suranjan . De Silva . Anslem . Gabadage . Dinesh . Botejue . Madhava . Madawala . Majintha . Ukuwela . Kanishka D.B. . 97 . 191–209 . 233441919 . free .
- Departemen Biologi, Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam, Universitas Indonesia, Kampus UI, Depok, 16424, Indonesia . Amarasinghe . A.A. Thasun . Karunarathna . Suranjan . Madawala . Majintha . de Silva . Anslem . 2021-05-27 . TWO NEW RUPICOLOUS DAY GECKOS OF THE Cnemaspis alwisi GROUP (REPTILIA: GEKKONIDAE) FROM SRI LANKA . 2021-06-04 . Taprobanica . 10 . 23–38 . 10.47605/tapro.v10i1.245. 236390650 . free .
- Web site: Crocodiles in Sri Lanka . March 2014 . Amazing lanka . 27 September 2016.
- Web site: Turtles and Tortoises of Sri Lanka . 21 May 2015 . Amazing Lanka . 27 September 2016.
- M. A. Smith (1943) The Fauna of British India Ceylon and Myanmar, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-Region
