Clidicus minilankanus sp. n., with notes on remaining Sri Lankan Clidicus species (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Scydmaeninae)

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4718 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-94
Author(s):  
PAWEŁ JAŁOSZYŃSKI

Until now, four species of Clidicus Laporte were found in Sri Lanka, three known from female specimens only. Clidicus minilankanus sp. n., is described, and compared to all remaining sympatric congeners. The Sri Lankan species may form a monophyletic group characterized by several morphological oddities: the head only slightly impressed posteromedially, with a large portion of vertex and frons not divided longitudinally; the pronotum quadrangular and flattened, with vestigial or absent posterior ‘collar’, and the transverse groove that demarcates it from the disc lacking pits or even entirely or partly obliterated; and the metaventrite strongly shortened, so that meso- and metacoxae are nearly adjacent. These characters may justify resurrecting Erineus Walker, a junior synonym of Clidicus (proposed for the first described Sri Lankan species, C. monstrosus (Walker)), as a valid name for a subgenus. This problem must be addressed by a phylogenetic analysis of all Clidicus species, to establish evolutionary relationships within this interesting genus. 

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4629 (4) ◽  
pp. 589-599
Author(s):  
BARRY C. RUSSELL ◽  
MOHAMMAD EUSUF HASAN ◽  
JEAN-DOMINIQUE DURAND

Scolopsis igcarensis Mishra, Biswas, Russell, Satpathy & Selvanayagam, 2013 was described from specimens collected from coastal waters of southern India and Sri Lanka. A comparison of recently collected specimens from Bangladesh, initially identified as S. igcarensis, with Scolopsis vosmeri (Bloch, 1792) showed morphological differences between the two species are minor, and that specimens of S. igcarensis in fact represent juvenile and subadult colour forms of S. vosmeri. Underwater and aquarium observations, as well as molecular data based on the COI barcode region, support this conclusion. Accordingly, S. igcarensis is regarded as a junior synonym of S. vosmeri, which is redescribed herein. Phylogenetic analysis of COI barcodes of Scolopsis specimens produced in this study, together with those available from GenBank, indicate S. vosmeri is part of a species complex which includes two additional cryptic sister species that require further taxonomic investigation. 


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1931 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
ROHAN PETHIYAGODA ◽  
ANJANA SILVA ◽  
KALANA MADUWAGE ◽  
LALITH KARIYAWASAM

The Sri Lankan population of the spiny eel previously assigned to Macrognathus aral Schneider (Teleostei: Mastacembelidae) is shown to be a distinct species, for which the name M. pentophthalmos Gronow is available. Macrognathus pentophthalmos is distinguished from its closest congener, M. aral, by having 14–16 dorsal spines and a pre-dorsal length of 43.3–46.8% of standard length (SL) (vs. dorsal spines 18–22 and pre-dorsal length 35.5–40.8% SL in M. aral). Macrognathus pentophthalmos differs from its only other Indian congener, M. guentheri Day, among other characters, by having 24 pairs of rostral tooth plates (vs. rostral tooth plates absent). With the present designation of a neotype, Rhynchobdella orientalis Bloch & Schneider (type locality East Indies to Sri Lanka) becomes an objective junior synonym of M. aculeatus Bloch. Although assessed as ‘common’ in 1980, the population of M. pentophthalmos suffered a precipitous decline in the following decade, the causes of which are unknown. The species may now be extinct.


Zootaxa ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 2251 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
KNUT ROGNES

The Oriental species of the Bengalia peuhi species-group are revised and their male genitalia illustrated by means of digital colour photography. A key to males is presented, complete synonymies are given for all the species and their geographical distribution reconsidered. The 13 Oriental species making up the group are: Bengalia emarginata Malloch, 1927 (China, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam); B. emarginatoides sp. nov. (India, Sri Lanka); B. emdeniella (Lehrer, 2005), comb. nov. (China); B. fani Feng & Wei, 1998 (China); B. inermis Malloch, 1927 (Philippines); B. latro de Meijere, 1910 (Indonesia); B. lyneborgi James, 1966 (Philippines); B. pseudovaricolor Kurahashi & Tumrasvin, 1979 (Thailand); B. surcoufi Senior-White, 1923 (India, Nepal, Pakistan, Vietnam); B. taksina (Lehrer, 2005), comb. nov. (Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam); B. unicolor Séguy, 1946 (Pakistan); B. varicolor (Fabricius, 1805) (China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam); and B. weii sp. nov. (China). A lectotype is designated for Bengalia latro to fix the interpretation of the name. Bengalia bezzii Senior-White, 1923 is established as a junior synonym of Musca varicolor Fabricius, 1805, syn. nov. Bengalia chromatella Séguy, 1946 and Bengalia pallidicoxa Séguy, 1946 are treated as junior synonyms of Musca varicolor Fabricius, 1805, syn. nov. Afridigalia bezziella Lehrer, 2005 is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia emarginata Malloch, 1927, syn. nov. Afridigalia pinatuba Lehrer, 2005 and Ashokiana ramsdalei Lehrer, 2005 are established as junior synonyms of Bengalia inermis Malloch, 1927, syn. nov. Ashokiana ramsdalei and Afridigalia laguna Lehrer, 2005 are both based on a holotype with a partly destroyed aedeagus. Afridigalia tenggeria Lehrer, 2006 is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia latro de Meijere, 1910, syn. nov. Afridigalia thaisia Lehrer, 2008 is established as a junior synonym of Afridigalia taksina Lehrer, 2005, syn. nov. The Afrotropical Afridigalia walkeriana Lehrer, 2005 is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia depressa Walker, 1858, syn. nov. The Afrotropical Afridigalia zouloupyga Lehrer, 2006 is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia floccosa Wulp, 1885, syn. nov. Afridigalia arawakia Lehrer, 2006 is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia peuhi Villeneuve, 1914, syn. nov. Bengalia taiwanensis Fan, 1965, not a member of the peuhi species-group, is established as a junior synonym of Bengalia fuscipennis Bezzi, 1913, syn. nov. Sri Lanka is deleted from the distributional range of this species. New morphological terms are introduced for the description of the aedeagus. The ovipositor is described for Bengalia emarginata and Bengalia lyneborgi. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis is performed using NONA and Pee-Wee.


Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1801 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
LU SUN ◽  
W. P. MCCAFFERTY

The mayfly subfamily Brachycercinae (Pannota: Caenidae) is redefined and shown to be an apotypic, monophyletic group based on numerous synapomorphies, including, for example in the larvae, the presence of ocellar tubercles, an anterior row of long setae on the larval head capsule, a patch of long setae posterior to the base of the glossae, a broad prosternum, and the absence of toothlike claw denticles. Over 100 morphological characters of larvae, adults, and eggs discovered to be useful for phylogenetic analysis and diagnoses are detailed and illustrated. Thirty-eight species are recognized among the genera Brachycercus Curtis, Caenoculis Soldán, Cercobrachys Soldán, Insulibrachys Soldán, Sparbarus, n. gen., Oriobrachys, n. gen., Latineosus, n. gen., Susperatus, n. gen., and Alloretochus, n. gen., by adopting a strictly phylogenetic classification, including a first tribal classification within the subfamily. Brachycercus ojibwe, n. sp., Cercobrachys fox, n. sp., C. lilliei, n. sp., C. pomeiok, n. sp., C. winnebago, n. sp., Latineosus cayo, n. sp., L. cibola, n. sp., Oriobrachys mahakam, n. sp., Sparbarus choctaw, n. sp., S. coushatta, n. sp., S. miccosukee, n. sp., and Susperatus tonkawa, n. sp. are newly described. The Nearctic Brachycercus articus Soldán, n. syn., and B. edmundsi Soldán, n. syn., are shown to be equivalent to B. harrisella Curtis, proving the latter to be a widespread Holarctic species. Sparbarus capnicus (Zhou, Sun and McCafferty), n. comb., S. corniger (Kluge), n. comb., S. europaeus (Kluge), n. comb., S. gilliesi (Soldán and Landa), n. comb., S. japonicus (Gose), n. comb., S. kabyliensis (Soldán), n. comb., S. lacustris (Needham), n. comb., S. maculatus (Berner), n. comb., S. nasutus (Soldán), n. comb., S. tubulatus (Tshernova), n. comb., Susperatus prudens (McDunnough), n. comb., and S. tuberculatus (Soldán), n. comb., are transferred from Brachycercus. Alloretochus peruanicus (Soldán), n. comb., and Latineosus colombianus (Soldán), n. comb., are transferred from Cercobrachys. Caenis dangi (Soldán), n. comb., is transferred from Caenoculis and Brachycercinae to Caeninae, and provisionally placed in Caenis Stephens. Sparbarus flavus (Traver), n. comb., is transferred from Brachycercus and considered to be a nomen dubium. Nomenclatural history, new or revised descriptions as appropriate, diagnoses, illustrations, and keys are provided for known stage of species. Origins and evolutionary relationships of the Brachycercinae are hypothesized based on cladistic results. Brachycercinae is considered to have originated from a Caenis-like ancestor. The genera Cae-WORLD BRACHYCERCINAEnoculis and Insulibrachys represent more ancestral lineages, whereas the genera Sparbarus, n. gen., Brachycercus, Oriobrachys, n. gen., Latineosus, n. gen., Susperatus, n. gen., Alloretochus, n. gen., and Cercobrachys appear more derived. Cercobrachys pomeiok and other closely related species are most apotypic in terms of numbers of accumulated apomorphies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Gisa Jähnichen

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.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Balasubramaniam M ◽  
◽  
Sivapalan K ◽  
Tharsha J ◽  
Sivatharushan V ◽  
...  

Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Therese Muzeniek ◽  
Thejanee Perera ◽  
Sahan Siriwardana ◽  
Dilara Bas ◽  
Fatimanur Kaplan ◽  
...  

Bats are known to be potential reservoirs of numerous human-pathogenic viruses. They have been identified as natural hosts for coronaviruses, causing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in humans. Since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in 2019 interest in the prevalence of coronaviruses in bats was newly raised. In this study we investigated different bat species living in a sympatric colony in the Wavul Galge cave (Koslanda, Sri Lanka). In three field sessions (in 2018 and 2019), 395 bats were captured (Miniopterus, Rousettus, Hipposideros and Rhinolophus spp.) and either rectal swabs or fecal samples were collected. From these overall 396 rectal swab and fecal samples, the screening for coronaviruses with nested PCR resulted in 33 positive samples, 31 of which originated from Miniopterus fuliginosus and two from Rousettus leschenaultii. Sanger sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the obtained 384-nt fragment of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase revealed that the examined M. fuliginosus bats excrete alphacoronaviruses and the examined R. leschenaultii bats excrete betacoronaviruses. Despite the sympatric roosting habitat, the coronaviruses showed host specificity and seemed to be limited to one species. Our results represent an important basis to better understand the prevalence of coronaviruses in Sri Lankan bats and may provide a basis for pursuing studies on particular bat species of interest.


2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (69) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Boženko Đevoić

ABSTRACT This article gives an overview of the 26 year long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and examines physical reconstruction and economic development as measures of conflict prevention and postconflict reconstruction. During the years of conflict, the Sri Lankan government performed some conflict prevention measures, but most of them caused counter effects, such as the attempt to provide “demilitarization”, which actually increased militarization on both sides, and “political power sharing” that was never honestly executed. Efforts in post-conflict physical reconstruction and economic development, especially after 2009, demonstrate their positive capacity as well as their conflict sensitivity. Although the Sri Lankan government initially had to be forced by international donors to include conflict sensitivity in its projects, more recently this has changed. The government now practices more conflict sensitivity in its planning and execution of physical reconstruction and economic development projects without external pressure.


ICL Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-306
Author(s):  
Danushka S Medawatte

AbstractIn this paper, I attempt to examine the evolution of judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka with a view to better understanding how it has impacted the democratic fabric and constitutional matrix of Sri Lanka. The impact that judicial review of legislation has had on rights jurisprudence, enhancement of democracy, prevention of persecution against selected groups are analysed in this paper in relation to the Ceylon Constitutional Order in Council of 1946 (‘Soulbury’ Constitution) and the two autochthonous constitutions of Sri Lanka of 1972 and 1978. The first part of the paper comprises of a descriptive analysis of judicial review of legislation under the three Constitutions. This is expected to perform a gap filling function in respect of the lacuna that exists in Sri Lankan legal literature in relation to the assessment of the trends pertaining to judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka. In the second part of the paper, I have analysed decided cases of Sri Lanka to explore how the judiciary has responded to legislative and executive power, and has given up or maintained judicial independence. In this respect, I have also attempted to explore whether the judiciary has unduly engaged in restraint thereby impeding its own independence. The third part of the paper evaluates the differences in technique and stance the judiciary has adopted when reviewing draft enactments of the national legislature and when reviewing draft or enacted statutes of Provincial Councils. From a comparative constitutional perspective, this assessment is expected to provide the background that is essential in understanding the island nation’s current constitutional discourse, transitional justice process, and its approach to human rights.


2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 1966-2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
BENJAMIN SCHONTHAL

AbstractThis article examines the history and effects of Buddhist constitutionalism in Sri Lanka, by which is meant the inclusion of special protections and status for Buddhism in the island's 1972 and 1978 constitutions, alongside guarantees of general religious rights and other features of liberal constitutionalism. By analysing Sri Lankan constitutional disputes that have occurred since the 1970s, this article demonstrates how the ‘Buddhism Chapter’ of Sri Lanka's constitution has given citizens potent opportunities and incentives for transforming specific disagreements and political concerns into abstract contests over the nature of Buddhism and the state's obligations to protect it. Through this process, a culture of Buddhist legal activism and Buddhist-interest litigation has taken shape. This article also augments important theories about the work of ‘theocratic’ or religiously preferential constitutions and argues for an alternative, litigant-focused method of investigating them.


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