A reappraisal of leaf morphology in Aponogeton natans (Aponogetonaceae)

The aquatic monocotyledon genus Aponogeton L.f. (Aponogetonaceae) consists of about 57 species distributed mainly in the tropical or subtropical regions of the Old world. Aponogeton natans (L.) Engler & Krause is the type species of the genus and occurs in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. During recent field work, which focused exclusively on Sri Lankan Aponogeton, we were unable to satisfactorily reconcile our collections of A. natans with the morphological descriptions given in several previously published accounts globally, as all description indicated the presence of submersed leaves. Detail investigation carried out with literature and the type specimens revealed that the presences of submersed leaves is only a misconception that was propagated by a misinterpretation of the Latin description provided by Krause & Engler in 1906. To clarify the nature of the foliage in A. natans we provide here a revised morphological description of this taxon along with an illustration and images.

Download Full-text

The Old World Microveliinae (Hemiptera: Veliidae). II. Three new species of Baptista Distant and a new genus from the Oriental region

Insect Systematics & Evolution ◽

10.1163/187631289x00258 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 19 (3) ◽

pp. 363-380 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

N. Møller Andersen

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Type Species ◽

New Genus ◽

Southern India ◽

Related Genus ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Old World ◽

Oriental Region ◽

Three New Species

AbstractThe Oriental genus Baptista Distant is redescribed and compared with other genera of Old World Microveliinae. The type-species, B. gesiroi Distant, hitherto only known from the type specimens (from Burma), is redescribed and recorded from Thailand. Three new speeies are described: B. femoralis sp. n. (Thailand, West Malaysia), B. digitata sp. n. (Thailand), and B. angulata sp. n. (southern India). These species all live in very cryptic and secluded habitats, like wet litter, small watery holes in rocks, or small cavities under turf along streams. The males of the new species exhibit a remarkable polymorphism in the structure of fore Iegs and pregenital abdomen. A closely related genus, Lathriovelia gen. n., is described with two species, L. capitata sp. n. and L. collaris sp. n., both from West Malaysia. This genus has a head structure which is quite unique within the subfamily.

Download Full-text

A revision of the genus Paramesodes Ishihara (Homoptera, Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) with descriptions of eight new species

Insect Systematics & Evolution ◽

10.1163/187631283x00380 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 17-32

Author(s):

M.R. Wilson

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Middle East ◽

Sierra Leone ◽

Type Species ◽

Old World ◽

New Synonymy ◽

Old World Tropics

AbstractThe genus Paramesodes Ishihara (= Coexitianus Dlabola) (Homoptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadellidae) is redescribed and revised. It comprises 11 species, of which 8 are described as new, distributed in the Old World tropics and sub-tropics; P. albinervosus (Mats.) (type species) from Japan, Taiwan, S. China; P. lineaticollis (Distant) (= ishurdii Mahmood & Meher, new synonymy), from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan; P. lucaniae (Dlabola) stat. rev., from India, E. Mediterranean, Middle East, USSR; P. pusae n. sp. from India; P. matalae n. sp. from Sri Lanka; P. mokanshanae n. sp. from S. China; P. njalae n. sp. from Sierra Leone; P. morowalae n. sp. from Sulawesi; P. annamae n. sp. from Vietnam; P. lagunae n. sp. from Philippine Islands; P. tawae n. sp. from Philippine Islands. A key to males is provided. The lectotype of P. lineaticollis (Distant) is designated.

Download Full-text

Two new species of Camptopteroides (Camptopteroides) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) from the Oriental region with a key to Old World species

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4868.2.4 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4868 (2) ◽

pp. 243-256

Author(s):

HARIHARAKRISHNAN SANKARARAMAN ◽

SAGADAI MANICKAVASAGAM ◽

SERGUEI V. TRIAPITSYN ◽

JOHN T. HUBER ◽

BANKERDONBOR KHARBISNOP

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Sri Lanka ◽

Type Species ◽

World Species ◽

Old World ◽

Oriental Region ◽

Two New Species ◽

Holotype Male

An overview of the Oriental species of the nominate subgenus of Camptopteroides Viggiani (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is given. Two new species, C. (Camptopteroides) formosa Manickavasagam & Sankararaman sp. n. from India and C. (Camptopteroides) reducta Triapitsyn sp. n. from Thailand and Malaysia, are described, and C. formosa additionally compared to two unnamed species. The holotype male of the type species of this genus, C. armata Viggiani from Sri Lanka, is diagnosed and illustrated. A key to Old World species of Camptopteroides is provided.

Download Full-text

TAXONOMY AND DISTRIBUTION OF Liopeltis calamaria (GÜNTHER, 1858) (REPTILIA : COLUBRIDAE), INCLUDING REDESCRIPTION OF THE SYNTYPES

TAPROBANICA The Journal of Asian Biodiversity ◽

10.47605/tapro.v9i1.220 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 39-49

Author(s):

A.A. Thasun Amarasinghe ◽

◽

Suranjan Karunarathna ◽

Patrick D. Campbell ◽

S.R. Ganesh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

South Asia ◽

South India ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Gangetic Plains

Liopeltis calamaria, a rare non-venomous colubrid snake of South Asia, is redescribed. Its syntypes and all the available type specimens of its recognized synonyms are examined, including information about the respective populations found across India and Sri Lanka. Our literature compilation and mapping analyses reveal three distinct populations – (I) Sri Lankan (probably also present in some parts of South India as well), (II) Peninsular Indian, and (III) Himalayan / Nepalese, separated by the Palk Strait and the Indo-Gangetic plains respectively.

Download Full-text

An annotated species list of regular echinoids from Sri Lanka with notes on some rarely seen temnopleurids

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4571.1.3 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4571 (1) ◽

pp. 35

Author(s):

GAYASHAN M. ARACHCHIGE ◽

SEVVANDI JAYAKODY ◽

RICH MOOI ◽

ANDREAS KROH

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Field Work ◽

Iucn Red List ◽

Red List ◽

Published Data ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Species List ◽

The Status ◽

Fisheries Bycatch ◽

The 19Th Century

The first recorded regular echinoid species from Sri Lanka, “Salmacis virgulatus” (now known as S. virgulata L. Agassiz in L. Agassiz & Desor, 1846), was listed by Agassiz & Desor (1846). Knowledge of Sri Lankan regular echinoids continued to advance until the end of the 19th century. However, there is a gap in knowledge between the mid-20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries due to a lack of systematic studies, with the exception of two checklists published by the IUCN Red List in 2006 and 2012. In the present study, we compiled a species list combining published data and new data based on fieldwork between 2013 and 2015. Echinoids were sampled by snorkelling, diving, examination of fisheries bycatch, and collection of tests from beaches. The updated species list presented in this study includes 39 regular echinoids belonging to 28 genera, nine families, and five orders. Phyllacanthus imperialis (Lamarck, 1816) and Temnopleurus toreumaticus (Leske, 1778), which were not recorded during the last 90 years, were confirmed to still occur in Sri Lanka by the present study. We develop an updated species list of regular echinoids to form a basis for future systematic work. The study recommends further investigation to evaluate the status of deep-sea species and additional field work off the northern and eastern coasts of Sri Lanka.

Download Full-text

A review of previous studies on the Sri Lankan echinoid fauna, with an updated species list

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4231.2.1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4231 (2) ◽

pp. 151 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

GAYASHAN M. ARACHCHIGE ◽

SEVVANDI JAYAKODY ◽

RICH MOOI ◽

ANDREAS KROH

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Original Data ◽

Published Data ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Indian Coast ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Species List ◽

Systematic Revision ◽

Field Surveys ◽

Annotated List

A comprehensive review and analysis of the literature on echinoids from Sri Lankan waters were conducted to compile an annotated list that integrates the existing published data with original data from recent research. According to the published literature, 115 echinoid species and one subspecies have been reported from Sri Lanka to date. However, the current study revealed that only 66 echinoid species and one subspecies belonging to 20 families can be verified to occur in Sri Lankan waters. According to the present analysis, 49 species were excluded from the list due to uncertain records (16) or synonymy (33) with other taxa known from the region. Of the 66 species and one subspecies occurring in Sri Lankan waters, 11 were first described from type material collected from this region. Six of the type specimens are “regular” echinoids and five are Irregularia. Out of these 11, Araeosoma coriaceum indicum has been recorded only from and appears to be endemic to Sri Lankan waters. However, 34 species of Sri Lankan echinoids have not been recorded in the last 90 years. Echinoid species recorded from Sri Lankan waters represent 6.7% of the currently accepted species of extant echinoids and include representatives of 28% of the extant echinoid families. Forty-five percent (45%) of echinoids recorded from the Indian coast (113 species and subspecies) are present in Sri Lankan waters. The current study highlights the need for systematic revision of echinoid records in Sri Lanka through field surveys and reconciliation of discrepancies in the existing literature. Offshore sampling is also needed due to lack of recent information on local deep-sea echinoids.

Download Full-text

Dryophthorinae weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) of the forest floor in Southeast Asia: illustrated overview of nominal Stromboscerini genera

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4418.2.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4418 (2) ◽

pp. 121 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

VASILY V. GREBENNIKOV

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Southeast Asia ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Type Species ◽

Western Hemisphere ◽

Monotypic Genus ◽

Northern Australia ◽

Type Specimens ◽

Incertae Sedis ◽

New Tribe

All 13 Recent genera currently assigned to the tribe Stromboscerini are studied and illustrated based mainly on the type specimens of the type species. Nominal monotypic genus Parasynommatus Voss, 1956 from New Guinea is herein transferred to Cossoninae incertae sedis. The genus Nephius is notably dissimilar to the rest of the tribe and perhaps renders it paraphyletic. Besides the monotypic type genus endemic to Madagascar, the tribe is distributed in a triangle delimited by Japan, Sri Lanka and northern Australia; two new tribe records from continental Africa (Uganda) and the Western Hemisphere (Cuba) are reported and illustrated. Assignment of both fossil monotypic genera to the tribe was done outside of the cladistic framework and remains questionable. Judging by external similarity, the likeliest closest relative of Stromboscerini (with or without Nephius and, perhaps, Stromboscerus) is the tribe Dryophthorini with three Recent genera.

Download Full-text

Cant a Sen Vargonya

Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages ◽

10.1075/jpcl.2.1.03jac ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 31-48 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kenneth David Jackson

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Field Work ◽

Oral Traditions ◽

Late Nineteenth Century ◽

British Library ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Cultural Traditions ◽

Textual Practices ◽

Unique Source ◽

First Time

This study analyzes the oral traditions of Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese as a syncretism of European, African, and Asian sources, evidenced in literary themes, linguistic practice, and cultural traditions. Resulting musical, dramatic, and textual practices play a central role in defining tradition and maintaining group identity in the creole communities. Both the co-existence and the interrelationship of oral texts establish traditions which contribute to a system of creole culture that spread throughout Asia. References are primarily to Sri Lankan and Indian materials collected by scholars in the late nineteenth century and during my field work in the 1970s and 1980s. Sri Lankan verses refer to the east coast Burghers of Bat-ticaloa and Trincomalee and to the Kaffirs of Puttalam. This study also presents for the first time a unique source for data and comparative analysis from the H. Nevill collection at the British Library, which is an extensive manuscript of Sri Lankan Creole texts from the 1870s or 1880s written in Dutch orthography and including material subsequently published by Schuchardt, Dalgado, and others. The theoretical focus concerns the translation of European, African, and Asian materials into a Eurasian discourse that displaces the originals, creating a new textual system of Portuguese Creole oral materials in Asia. The texts that give definition to creole culture have proved remarkably persistent, surviving in Sri Lanka from the seventeenth century to the present.

Download Full-text

The Role of Music and Allied Arts in Public Writings on Cultural Diversity: “People of Sri Lanka”

ASIAN-EUROPEAN MUSIC RESEARCH JOURNAL ◽

10.30819/aemr.6-7 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. 93-100

Author(s):

Gisa Jähnichen

Keyword(s):

Sri Lanka ◽

Cultural Diversity ◽

South Asia ◽

Case Studies ◽

Sri Lankan ◽

Culturally Different ◽

The World ◽

Official Languages ◽

The Way

The Sri Lankan Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue, and Official Languages published the work “People of Sri Lanka” in 2017. In this comprehensive publication, 21 invited Sri Lankan scholars introduced 19 different people’s groups to public readers in English, mainly targeted at a growing number of foreign visitors in need of understanding the cultural diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. This paper will observe the presentation of these different groups of people, the role music and allied arts play in this context. Considering the non-scholarly design of the publication, a discussion of the role of music and allied arts has to be supplemented through additional analyses based on sources mentioned by the 21 participating scholars and their fragmented application of available knowledge. In result, this paper might help improve the way facts about groups of people, the way of grouping people, and the way of presenting these groupings are displayed to the world beyond South Asia. This fieldwork and literature guided investigation should also lead to suggestions for ethical principles in teaching and presenting of culturally different music practices within Sri Lanka, thus adding an example for other case studies.

Download Full-text