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Semnopithecus Vetulus
The purple-faced langur (''Semnopithecus vetulus''), also known as the purple-faced leaf monkey, is a species of Old World monkey that is endemic to Sri Lanka. The animal is a long-tailed arboreal species, identified by a mostly brown appearance, dark face (with paler lower face) and a very shy nature. The species was once highly prevalent, found in suburban Colombo and the "wet zone" villages (areas with high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year, whilst rain deluges occur during the monsoon seasons), but rapid urbanization has led to a significant decrease in the population level of the monkeys. It had traditionally been classified within the genus ''Trachypithecus'' but was moved to the genus ''Semnopithecus'' based on DNA evidence indicating that is it more closely related to the gray langurs. In Sinhala, it is known as ශ්රී ලංකා කළු වඳුරා ʌlu vʌⁿðura(Sri Lanka black monkey). Description In the purple-faced langur, m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The IUCN Red List Of Threatened Species
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 an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species. A series of Regional Red Lists, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit, are also produced by countries and organizations. The goals of the Red List are to provide scientifically based information on the status of species and subspecies at a global level, to draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity, to influence national and international policy and decision-making, and to provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity. Major species assessors include BirdLife International, the Institute of Zoology (the research division of the Zoological Society of London), the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and many Specialist Groups within th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mammals Of Sri Lanka (book)
Mammals of Sri Lanka by written by Asoka Yapa and illustrated by Gamini Ratnavira is a zoology book about the mammalian species of Sri Lanka. This is the first complete zoological book about mammals in Sri Lanka in 80 years. The first Sri Lankan book on mammals dated back to 1935, when W.W.A Phillips wrote ''Manuals of The Mammals of Ceylon''. After that, many journals and other minor works on the topic were published, but no fully-detailed and fully-photographed volumes. Asoka Yapa is a Canadian resident who trained as a zoologist, was a science editor with Canadian Forest Service, and was also a key member of many departments in Canada related to wildlife. As stated in the book's introduction, he was influenced by the work of his friend Professor Sarath Kotagama, the leading ornithologist in Sri Lanka. Kotagama invited him to make a fully-detailed book about Sri Lankan mammalian fauna and Yapa accepted. He visited Sri Lankan national parks for further investigation and used m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nephelium Lappaceum
Rambutan ( ; ; ''Nephelium lappaceum'') is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The name also refers to the edible fruit produced by this tree. The rambutan is native to Southeast Asia. It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits, including the lychee, longan, pulasan, and quenepa. Description It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of . The leaves are alternate, long, pinnate, with three to eleven leaflets, each leaflet wide and broad with an entire margin. The flowers are small, , apetalous, discoidal, and borne in erect terminal panicles wide. Rambutan trees can be male (producing only staminate flowers and, hence, produce no fruit), female (producing flowers that are only functionally female), or hermaphroditic (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers). Fruit The fruit is a round to oval single-seeded drupe, long, rarely to long and broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of ten to twenty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artocarpus Heterophyllus
The jackfruit or ''nangka'' (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'') is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). The jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as in weight, in length, and in diameter. A mature jackfruit tree produces some 200 fruits per year, with older trees bearing up to 500 fruits in a year. The jackfruit is a multiple fruit composed of hundreds to thousands of individual flowers, and the fleshy petals of the unripe fruit are eaten by humans. The jackfruit tree is well-suited to tropical lowlands and is widely cultivated throughout tropical regions of the world, particularly from South Asia to Southeast Asia and Oceania. Its ripe fruit can be sweet depending on grown variety, which is commonly used in desserts. Canned green jackfruit has a mild taste and meat-like texture that lends itself to being called " vegetable meat". Jackfruit is commonly used in South and Southeast Asian cuisines.''The encyclopedia o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folivore
In zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less energy than other types of foods, and often toxic compounds.Jones, S., Martin, R., & Pilbeam, D. (1994) ''The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press For this reason, folivorous animals tend to have long digestive tracts and slow metabolisms. Many enlist the help of symbiotic bacteria to release the nutrients in their diet. Additionally, as has been observed in folivorous primates, they exhibit a strong preference for immature leaves which tend to be easier to masticate, are higher in energy and protein, and lower in fibre and poisons than more mature fibrous leaves. Folivory and flight It has been observed that folivory is extremely rare among flying vertebrates. Morton (1978) attributed this to the fact that leaves are heavy, slow to digest, and contain little energy relative to other foo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galle
Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District. Galle was known as ''Gimhathiththa'' before the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century, when it was the main port on the island. Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan Berber Muslim traveller in the 14th century, referred to it as ''Qali''. Galle reached the height of its development in the 18th century, during the Dutch colonial period. Galle is the best example of a fortified city built by the Portuguese in South and Southeast Asia, showing the interaction between Portuguese architectural styles and native traditions. The city was extensively fortified by the Dutch during the 17th century from 1649 onwards. The Galle fort is a World Heritage Site and is the largest remaining fortress in Asia built by European occupiers. Other prominent landmarks in Galle inclu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horton Plains National Park
Horton Plains National Park () is a national park in the central highlands of Sri Lanka that was designated in 1988. It covers an area of 31km² and borders Thotupalakanda Nature Reserve. It is located at an elevation of and encompasses montane grassland and cloud forest, cloud fores. Temperature fluctuates between 0'C and 27'C. It is rich in biodiversity and many species found here are endemism, endemic to the region. The Horton Plains are the Source (river or stream), headwaters of three major Sri Lankan rivers, the Mahaweli River, Mahaweli, Kelani River, Kelani, and Walawe river, Walawe. In Sinhala language, Sinhala the plains are known as Maha Eliya Plains (මහ එළිය තැන්න). Stone tools dating back to Balangoda Man, Balangoda culture have been found here. The plains' vegetation is grasslands interspersed with montane forest and includes many endemic woody plants. Large herds of Sri Lankan sambar deer feature as typical mammals and the park is also an Impo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mihintale
Mihintale is a mountain peak near Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda (buddhist monk), Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. It is now a pilgrimage site, and the site of several religious monuments and abandoned structures. History Approximately east of Anuradhapura, close to the Anuradhapura - Trincomalee Road is situated the "Missaka Pabbata" which is in height and is one of the peaks of a mountainous range. According to Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa, Thera Mahinda (buddhist monk), Mahinda came to Sri Lanka from India on the full moon day of the month of Poson (June) and met King Devanampiyatissa and preached the Buddhist doctrine. The traditional spot where this meeting took place is revered by the Buddhists of Sri Lanka. Therefore, in the month of Poson, Buddhists make their pilgrimage to Anuradhapura and Mihintale. Mahinda was the son of E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kandalama
Kandalama is a village in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. Kandalama is situated close to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites - the Dambulla cave temple and the Sigiriya rock fortress. Kandalama is also home to the Kaludiya Pokuna Archeological Forest and the Heritance Kandalama, one of Sri Lanka's first five-star hotels designed by Geoffrey Bawa. The ancient irrigation tank built 1700 years ago by King Vasabha is situated in Kandalama. Nestling at the foot of Ereulagala ( above MSL) and Dikkandahena ( above MSL), the village is situated at the northern end of the Matale hills, and the beginning of the dry plains. The village lies on the border of the intermediate and dry zones of Sri Lanka. File:Kaludiya pokuna.jpg, Kaludiya Pokuna Forest at Kandalama File:Kandalama forest.jpg, Kandalama forest in at Kaludiya Pokuna See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province is a Provinces of Sri Lanka, province of Sri Lanka, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kitulgala
Kitulgala is a small town in the west of Sri Lanka. The 30th Academy Awards, Academy Award-winning ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' was filmed on the Kelani River near Kitulgala, although nothing remains now except the concrete foundations for the bridge. Kitulgala is also a base for white-water rafting, which starts a few kilometres upstream and also popular as a location for adventure based training programs. Features The Kelani river is wide at Kitulgala, but it is shallow apart from a deep channel near the opposite bank, so in the drier months it provides a safe and attractive place to swim, wash and play. The river can be crossed by walking out across the shallows and crossing the deep channel in a dugout canoe, which is stabilised with an outrigger. Sri Lanka's most recently discovered bird, the Serendib scops owl was originally heard calling by Deepal Warakagoda in these forests. The hills above the rubber plantations also have mountain hawk eagle, crested treeswift and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary Forestry in Sri Lanka, tropical rainforest. Over 60% of the trees are endemic, many of them considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds. The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala National Park, Yala. The most common larger mammal is the ende ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vavuniya
Vavuniya (, ) is a city in Vavuniya District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. The municipality is administered by an Municipal Council. The town has been known since ancient times, but being a heavily forested area, less than 100,000 people lived in the entire district before the Sri Lankan Civil War. The city is situated as a border town that divides the Tamil and Sinhalese population. To the south of the city are the Sinhala cities and to the north are the Tamil cities. The city has a large population of Tamils, Muslims and a significant number of Sinhalese. In the early days, Vavuniya was known as Vanni due to the abundance of Vanni Trees. The Security Forces Headquarters - Wanni is located in Vavuniya. History This city has a long history of being ruled by the Sinhala kings, who built many tanks and placed Naga Sacred Guard Stones near them with inscriptions. They inherited the city from the ancient Yaka and Nagas of Sri Lanka. Climate Vavuniya has a tropical sav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
