''Mahatha'' is a genus of

freshwater crab Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs, which relea ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Four of the six species are critically endangered due to

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and two are listed as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Species

''Mahatha adonis''

''Mahatha adonis'' is a widespread species, known from the Mahaweli Basin, Knuckles Massif and

Monaragala Monaragala ( si, මොනරාගල, translit=Monarāgala; ta, மொணராகலை, translit=Moṇarākalai) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province, Sri Lanka. It is the largest town in Monaragala District and is located ...

. It is considered a species of

by the IUCN.

''Mahatha helaya''

''Mahatha helaya'' is only known from its type locality, near Kalupahana on the main

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Haputale Haputale ( si, හපුතලේ; ta, ஹபுதலே) is a town of Badulla District in the Uva Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. The elevation is 1431 m (4695 ft) above the sea level. The area has a rich bio-diver ...

road, and is therefore considered critically endangered by the IUCN. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''helaya'' comes from the

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

word for an inhabitant of Sri Lanka.

''Mahatha iora''

''Mahatha iora'' is only known from its type locality, near the

Dunhinda Falls Dunhinda Falls is a waterfall located about from Badulla in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. The waterfall, which is high, gets its name from the smoky dew drops spray, (Dun in sinhala means mist or smoke) which surrounds the area at t ...

, and is therefore considered critically endangered by the IUCN.

''Mahatha lacuna''

''Mahatha lacuna'' is only known from its type locality, near

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

, and is therefore considered critically endangered by the IUCN. The

, from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "hole", refers to the deep burrow in which the species was found.

''Mahatha ornatipes''

''Mahatha ornatipes'' was originally described in 1915 by Roux as ''Paratelphusa ornatipes'', and was later described as ''Ceylonthelphusa inflatissima'' Bott, 1970. It is widespread in the wet zone of Sri Lanka and is considered a species of

by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

''Mahatha regina''

''Mahatha regina'' is only known from its type locality, near

Pundaluoya Pundaluoya is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also *List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province is a province of Sri Lanka, containing the Kandy District, Matale District, and Nuwara Eliya ...

, and is therefore considered critically endangered by the IUCN. The specific epithet (Latin for "queen") refers to the species' "regal appearance".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6733473 Gecarcinucidae Freshwater crustaceans of Asia Crustaceans of Sri Lanka Taxonomy articles created by Polbot