Friday, May 27, 2016

Water Snow Flat (Tagiades litigiosa)


English: Water Snow Flat
Binomial: Tagiades litigiosa

Water Snow Flat is a butterfly belongs to Hesperiidae family. It lives in Asian countries including Sri Lanka. Above photograph was taken at Eastern Sinharaja.

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Golden shrub frog (Pseudophilautus auratus)

English: Golden shrub frog
Binomial: Pseudophilautus auratus
Sinhala: රන්වන් පඳුරු මැඩියා [Ranwan panduru madiya]

Pseudophilautus auratus is an endemic species shrub frogs restricted to the wet zone forests of Sri Lanka. It is considered to be rare and commonly seen in higher elevations (513-1270m) of Sinharaja world heritage site, such as Morningside and Sooriyakanda forest reserves. Color of the body is highly variable and can be seen in yellow, pink or brownish pink. Latin species name “auratus” is an allusion to the golden skin color. Breeding of this amphibian does not depend on water and it takes place by direct development. IUCN Red List status of this frog is “Endangered”. Deforestation and agricultural activities are said to be the main threats.

References:
  • Manamendra-Arachchi, K., and Pethiyagoda, R. (2005). ''The Sri Lankan shrub-frogs of the genus Philautus Gistel, 1848 (Ranidae: Rhacophorinae), with description of 27 new species.'' Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, Supplement 12, 163-303. 
  • The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm) 2015-4 - http://www.iucnredlist.org 
  • Manamendra-Arachchi, K. & R. Pethiyagoda (2006): Sri Lankan amphibians [in Sinhala]. – WHT Publications, Colombo.

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Lemon pansy (Junonia lemonias)


English: Lemon pansy
Binomial: Junonia lemonias

Lemon pansy is a widely distributed butterfly in South Asian region including Sri Lanka. Above was photographed at Yala national park in June, 2015. It is more common in the dry zone compared to the wet zone.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Sri Lanka red crab (Ceylonthelphusa sanguinea)


English: Sri Lanka red crab
Binomial: Ceylonthelphusa sanguinea
Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා රතු කකුළුවා[Sri Lanka rathu kakuluwa]

Sri Lanka red crab is an endemic species of freshwater crabs found in Knuckles Range. Its habitats are small streams and waterfalls in the misty mountains of the Knuckles region. Above photographed one was found in a small stream at about 11 a.m in November, 2015. It is observed that they hide inside rock crevices after some time. In the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, this crab has been categorized as "Critically endangered" due to its very limited distribution.

Invasive species, rainwater acidification, climate change, and all other human activities that pollute aquatic environment systems are the threats for the existence of this species.

Information obtained from: Mr. M. M. Bahir. 
Reference: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(tm) 2015-4 - http://www.iucnredlist.org