Other Wildlife-Sri Lanka

Birds of Sri Lanka	Mammals of Sri Lanka	Herpetofauna of Sri Lanka	Butterflies of Sri Lanka	Other wildlife

Cuming's barb Apart from the mentioned bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian and butterfly faunal groups, Sri Lanka harbours other varieties of wildlife including freshwater & marine fish, dragonflies, damselflies, spiders, marine crustaceans & molluscs, freshwater crabs, and land snails. All these diverse fauna & floral groups are a result of Sri Lanka’s rich habitat diversity with rainforest, dry mixed evergreen, montane, mangrove forest, coastal & pelagic waters.

The freshwater fish diversity in Sri Lanka is very rich with 50 percent are endemic to the island. Sri Lanka can be recognised as a freshwater fish hotspot being half of the freshwater fish species are categorized as threatened according to the latest red list. Amongst 91 native freshwater fish 49 species are endemic to the island. In addition another 24 species which have been introduced to boost the inland fisheries industry and accidental releases from the ornamental fish trade inhabit the inland freshwater bodies. owl1

The rich wetlands, rivers, manmade tanks & other water sources result a diverse Odonate fauna in Sri Lanka. The two suborders Zygoptera (damselflies) Anisoptera (dragonflies) consist of 118 species oout of which 47 species are endemic to Sri Lanka. freshwater crab The mangrove ecosystems occur specially from the North Western to the Eastern coastal zone of Sri Lanka containing 21 species of true mangroves. The coastal waters around the island consist of both hard and soft corals. Hikkaduwa Marine National Park, Pigeon Island Marine National Park, Bar Reef Marine Sanctuary & the Rumassala Marine Sanctuary are four marine protected areas that have been established to conserve corals and its associated fauna. There are 208 species of hard corals, 35 species of soft corals, 469 species of gastropods, 742 species of marine crustaceans, 287 species of bivalves, 1377 species of marine fish, are recorded in these coastal & pelagic waters around Sri Lanka.

Among other land wildlife found in Sri Lanka, the highest diversity is found amongst spiders that contain 501 species with 257 species being endemic to the island. All of the Tarantula species are endemic to Sri Lanka. The discovery of 44 species of freshwater crabs after the year 1993 is a highlight of the Sri Lankan bio diversity where 50 out of 51 species of freshwater crabs, are endemic to Sri Lanka.

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