List of mammals of Sri Lanka

This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Sri Lanka, with their respective names in Sinhala also listed. There are 125 mammal species in Sri Lanka, of which one is critically endangered, ten are endangered, ten are vulnerable, and three are near threatened.

The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:

EX Extinct No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EW Extinct in the wild Known only to survive in captivity or as naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CR Critically endangered The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
EN Endangered The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VU Vulnerable The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NT Near threatened The species does not yet meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction, but it is likely to do so in the future.
LC Least concern There are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DD Data deficient There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species.

Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:

LR/cd Lower risk/conservation dependent Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme had been discontinued.
LR/nt Lower risk/near threatened Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable, but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lc Lower risk/least concern Species for which there are no identifiable risks.

Mammalian diversity

Class Order Number of species Endemic species Endemism
Mammals Sirenia
1
-
-
Proboscidea
1
-
-
Primates
5
3
60%
Rodentia
23
7
30.4%
Lagomorpha
1
-
-
Eulipotyphla
10
6
60%
Chiroptera
30
-
-
Carnivora
16
3
18.75%
Pholidota
1
-
-
Artiodactyla
8
2
25%
Perissodactyla
2
-
-
Cetacea
27
-
-

Order: Proboscidea (elephants)

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Asian elephant
අලියා

Elephas maximus Sri Lankan elephant, Elephas maximus maximus Endangered

Order: Sirenia (manatees and dugongs)

Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.

Dugong
  • Genus: Dugong
    • Dugong, D. dugon VU මුහුදු ඌරා

Order: Primates

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Gray slender loris
අලු උණහපුලුවා

Loris lydekkerianus • Northern Ceylonese slender loris,
Loris lydekkerianus nordicus

• Highland slender loris,
Loris lydekkerianus grandis

Least concern
Red slender loris
ශ්‍රී ලංකා රත් උණහපුලුවා

Loris tardigradus • Mountain slender loris,
Loris tardigradus nycticeboides

• Lowland slender loris,
Loris tardigradus tardigradus

Endangered
Toque macaque
රිලවා

Macaca sinica • Dryzone toque macaque,
Macaca sinica sinica

• Wetzone toque macaque,
Macaca sinica aurifrons

• Highland toque macaque,
Macaca sinica opisthomelas

Endangered
Tufted gray langur
හැලි වඳුරා

Semnopithecus priam • Sri Lanka tufted grey langur,
Semnopithecus priam thersites
Near threatened
Purple-faced langur
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කලු වඳුරා

Trachypithecus vetulus • Southern lowland wetzone purple-faced langur,
Trachypithecus vetulus vetulus

• Western purple-faced langur,
Trachypithecus vetulus nestor

• Dryzone purple-faced langur,
Trachypithecus vetulus philbricki

• Bear monkey,
Trachypithecus vetulus monticola

• Northern purple-faced langur,
Trachypithecus vetulus harti (not yet given validity)

Endangered

Order: Rodentia (rodents)

Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to 45 kg (99 lb).

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Lesser bandicoot rat
මහ ඌරු මීයා

Bandicota bengalensis Least concern
Greater bandicoot rat
හීන් ඌරු මීයා

Bandicota indica Least concern
Layard's palm squirrel
ශ්‍රී ලංකා මූකලන් ලේනා
Funambulus layardi Vulnerable
Dusky palm squirrel
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුංචි ලේනා
Funambulus obscurus Vulnerable
Indian palm squirrel
ලේනා

Funambulus palmarum Funambulus palmarum palmarum Least concern
Indian bush rat
පදුරු මීයා

Golunda ellioti Least concern
Indian porcupine
ඉත්තෑවා

Hystrix indica Least concern
Blanford's rat
වලිග සුදු වන මීයා

Madromys blanfordi Least concern
Soft-furred rat
කෙස් මුදු කෙත් මීයා
Millardia meltada Least concern
Little Indian field mouse
වෙල් හීන් මීයා
Mus booduga Least concern
Ceylon spiny mouse
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක‍ටු හීන් මීයා
Mus fernandoni Endangered
Mayor's mouse
ශ්‍රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ ක‍ටු හීන් මීයා
Mus mayori Vulnerable
House mouse
ගෙවල් මීයා

Mus musculus Mus musculus castaneus Least concern
Indian giant flying squirrel
මහ හම්බාවා

Petaurista philippensis Least concern
Travancore flying squirrel
හීන් හම්බාවා
Petinomys fuscocapillus Petinomys fuscocapillus layardi Near threatened
Nillu rat
නෙලූ මීයා
Rattus montanus Endangered
Brown rat
පොදු ගේ මීයා

Rattus norvegicus Least concern
Grizzled giant squirrel
දඬු ලේනා

Ratufa macroura • Highland giant squirrel,
Ratufa macroura macroura

• Dryzone giant squirrel,
Ratufa macroura dandolena

• Intermediate giant squirrel,
Ratufa macroura melanochra

Near threatened
Ohiya rat
ශ්‍රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ මීයා
Srilankamys ohiensis Vulnerable
Indian gerbil
වැලි මීයා

Tatera indica Least concern
Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse
ගස් මීයා

Vandeleuria oleracea Least concern

Order: Lagomorpha (lagomorphs)

The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Indian hare
වල් හාවා

Lepus nigricollis L. n. singhala LC

Order: Soricomorpha (shrews, moles, and solenodons)

The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mammals. The shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, while the moles are stout-bodied burrowers.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Sinharaja shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහරාජ කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura hikmiya Endangered
Horsefield's shrew
කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura horsfieldii Data deficient
Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura miya Endangered
Kelaart's long-clawed shrew
පිරි හික් මීයා
Feroculus feroculus Endangered
Pearson's long-clawed shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිය දිගු මාහික් මීයා
Solisorex pearsoni Endangered
Etruscan shrew
පොඩි හික් මීයා

Suncus etruscus Least concern
Sri Lanka shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොඩි හික් මීයා
Suncus fellowesgordoni Endangered
Sri Lanka highland shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කදු හික් මීයා
Suncus montanus Vulnerable
Asian house shrew
පොදු හික් මීයා

Suncus murinus Least concern
Jungle shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කැලෑ හික් මීයා
Suncus zeylanicus Endangered

Order: Chiroptera (bats)

The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Lesser short-nosed fruit bat
හීන් තල වවුලා

Cynopterus brachyotis LC
Greater short-nosed fruit bat
තල වවුලා

Cynopterus sphinx Least concern
Indian flying fox
මා වවුලා

Pteropus giganteus LC
Leschenault's rousette
බොර කහ පලා වවුලා
Rousettus leschenaulti Least concern
Hardwicke's woolly bat
රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා
Kerivoula hardwickii Least concern
Painted bat
රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා

Kerivoula picta Least concern
Lesser large-footed bat
බොර වවුලා
Myotis hasseltii Least concern
Chocolate pipistrelle
බොර හීන් වවුලා
Falsistrellus affinis Least concern
Tickell's bat
අවර වවුලා
Hesperoptenus tickelli Least concern
Kelaart's pipistrelle
රත් බොර කොස්ඇට වවුලා
Pipistrellus ceylonicus Least concern
Indian pipistrelle
ඉන්දු කොස්ඇට වවුලා

Pipistrellus coromandra Least concern
Greater Asiatic yellow bat
මහ කහ වවුලා
Scotophilus heathii Least concern
Lesser Asiatic yellow bat
හීන් කහ වවුලා

Scotophilus kuhlii Least concern
Round-eared tube-nosed bat
නළ නැහැ වවුලා
Murina cyclotis Least concern
Eastern bent-wing bat
දික්පිය වවුලා
Miniopterus fuliginosus Least concern
Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat
පොදු ‍රැලිතොල් වවුලා

Chaerephon plicata Least concern
Egyptian free-tailed bat
මහදිව් ‍රැලිතොල් වවුලා

Tadarida aegyptiaca Least concern
Naked-rumped pouched bat
පැස්පිරී වවුලා
Saccolaimus saccolaimus Least concern
Long-winged tomb bat
දික්බා කෙපුලුම් වවුලා

Taphozous longimanus Least concern
Black-bearded tomb bat
රැවුලකලු කෙපුලුම් වවුලා

Taphozous melanopogon Least concern
Greater false vampire bat
මහ බොරු ලේ වවුලා

Megaderma lyra Least concern
Lesser false vampire bat
කන්දිගු බොරු ලේ වවුලා

Megaderma spasma Least concern
Lesser woolly horseshoe bat
හීන් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා

Rhinolophus beddomei Least concern
Woolly horseshoe bat
අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා
Rhinolophus luctus Least concern
Rufous horseshoe bat
බොරත් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා

Rhinolophus rouxi Least concern
Dusky leaf-nosed bat
දෙපැහැ පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros ater Least concern
Fulvus roundleaf bat
මැලෑකහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා

Hipposideros fulvus Least concern
Cantor's roundleaf bat
කෙස්දිගු පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros galeritus Least concern
Indian roundleaf bat
මහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා

Hipposideros lankadiva Least concern
Schneider's leaf-nosed bat
කෙස්කෙටි පත්නැහැ වවුලා

Hipposideros speoris Least concern

Order: Pholidota (pangolins)

The order Pholidota comprises the eight species of pangolin. Pangolins are anteaters and have the powerful claws, elongated snout and long tongue seen in the other unrelated anteater species.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Indian pangolin
කබල්ලෑවා

Manis crassicaudata EN

Order: Cetacea (cetaceans)

The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Minke whale
මින්කි තල්මසා

Balaenoptera acutorostrata Dwarf minke whale Least concern
Bryde's whale
බ්ර්ය්ඩ් තල්මසා

Balaenoptera edeni Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale Data deficient
Blue whale
නිල් තල්මසා

Balaenoptera musculus Pygmy blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda
Endangered
Fin whale
වරල් තල්මසා

Balaenoptera physalus Southern fin whale,
Balaenoptera physalus quoyi
Endangered
Humpback whale
මොල්ලි තල්මසා

Megaptera novaeangliae Megaptera novaeangliae (Arabian Sea subpopulation) Endangered
Finless porpoise
අවරල් දෙනුවා

Neophocaena phocaenoides Neophocaena phocaenoides phocaenoides Vulnerable
Sperm whale
මන්ද තල්මසා

Physeter macrocephalus Vulnerable
Pygmy sperm whale
කුරු මන්ද තල්මසා

Kogia breviceps Data deficient
Dwarf sperm whale
මිටි මන්ද තල්මසා

Kogia sima Data deficient
Cuvier's beaked whale
කුවියර් උල් තල්මසා

Ziphius cavirostris Least concern
Blainville's beaked whale
බ්ලේයින් හොබු තල්මසා

Mesoplodon densirostris Data deficient
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
හොබු තල්මසා
Mesoplodon ginkgodens Data deficient
Deraniyagala's beaked whale
දැරණිලගලගේ උල්හොට තල්මසා
Mesoplodon hotaula -
Risso's dolphin
අළු මුල්ලා

Grampus griseus Least concern
Fraser's dolphin
කෙටිහොට මුල්ලා

Lagenodelphis hosei Least concern
Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin
ඉන්දු ශාන්තිකර මොල්ලි මුල්ලා

Sousa chinensis Near threatened
Pantropical spotted dolphin
තිත් මුල්ලා

Stenella attenuata Stenella attenuata attenuata Least concern
Striped dolphin
වෛරම් මුල්ලා

Stenella coeruleoalba Least concern
Spinner dolphin
බමන මුල්ලා

Stenella longirostris Stenella longirostris longirostris Data deficient
Rough-toothed dolphin
රලුදත් මුල්ලා

Steno bredanensis Data deficient
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin
ඉන්දු පැසි‍ෆික් බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා

Tursiops aduncus Data deficient
Bottlenose dolphin
බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා

Tursiops truncatus Tursiops truncatus (Mediterranean subpopulation) Least concern
Melon-headed whale
පුහුල් ඔළු මුල්ලා

Peponocephala electra Least concern
Pygmy killer whale
කුරු මිනී තල්මසා

Feresa attenuata Data deficient
False killer whale
බොරු මිනී තල්මසා

Pseudorca crassidens Data deficient
Killer whale
මිනී තල්මසා

Orcinus orca Data deficient
Short-finned pilot whale
නියමු තල්මසා

Globicephala macrorhynchus Data deficient

Order: Carnivora (carnivorans)

There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Golden jackal
හිවලා

Canis aureus Sri Lankan jackal, C. a. naria LC
Jungle cat
වල් බළලා / වල් බාවා

Felis chaus Sri Lankan jungle cat, F. c. kelaarti LC
Indian grey mongoose
මුගටියා

Urva edwardsii LC
Indian brown mongoose
බොර මුගටියා

Urva fusca LC
Ruddy mongoose
හෝතබුවා

Urva smithii LC
Stripe-necked mongoose
මහ මුගටියා

Urva vitticolla U. v. vitticolla LC
Eurasian otter
දිය බල්ලා

Lutra lutra L. l. nair NT
Sloth bear
මන්ද වලහා

Melursus ursinus Sri Lankan sloth bear, M. u. inornatus VU
Leopard
කොටියා

Panthera pardus Sri Lankan leopard,
P. p. kotiya
Endangered
Asian palm civet
කලවැද්දා

Paradoxurus hermaphroditus LC
Golden palm civet
ශ්‍රී ලංකා බොර කලවැද්දා

Paradoxurus zeylonensis VU
Rusty-spotted cat
කොල දිවියා

Prionailurus rubiginosus P. r. phillipsi NT
Fishing cat
හදුන් දිවියා

Prionailurus viverrinus VU
Small Indian civet
උරුලෑවා

Viverricula indica V. i. mayori LC

Order: Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates)

The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.

Name Binomial Subspecies Status
Chital
තිත් මුවා

Axis axis Sri Lankan axis deer,
Axis axis ceylonensis
Least concern
Indian hog deer
විල් මුවා

Axis porcinus Axis porcinus porcinus Endangered; possibly introduced
Gaur
ගවරා

Bos gaurus Extirpated
Wild water buffalo
කුළු මීහරකා

Bubalus arnee Bubalus arnee migona Endangered
Sri Lankan yellow-striped chevrotain
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කහ ඉරි මීමින්නා
Moschiola kathygre Least concern
Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුදු තිත් මීමින්නා

Moschiola meminna Least concern
Indian muntjac
ඕලු මුවා / වැලි මුවා

Muntiacus muntjak Muntiacus muntjak malabaricus Least concern
Sambar deer
ගෝනා

Rusa unicolor Sri Lankan sambar deer,
Rusa unicolor unicolor
Vulnerable
Wild boar
වල් ඌරා

Sus scrofa Indian boar,
Sus scrofa cristatus
Least concern

See also

Further reading


This page was last updated at 2023-11-14 19:57 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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