v9i2.234

ISSN: 1800-427X (printed)
eISSN: 1800-427X (online)
DOI:10.47605/tapro.v9i2.234

Submitted date: 25 June 2020
Accepted date: 05 October 2020
Published date: 28 November 2020
Pp. 217–219, Pls. 58–59.

Range extension of a globally endangered Martenstyn’s barb, Systomus martenstyni

O.W. Kotagama, S. de A. Goonatilake*, W.P.N. Perera & D.K. Weerakoon
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sampath.goonatilake@iucn.org

Sri Lanka is endowed with a rich network of rivers that dissects the island into 103 river basins. Mahaweli River, 332 km long, is the largest of these basins, covering 10,327 km2, approximately one-sixth of the island’s land area. Mahaweli River passes through three bioclimatic zones and therefore comprises a cross-section of almost all the natural ecosystems present in Sri Lanka other than tropical rainforest. Further, the river basin is inhabited by a diverse species assemblage including a number of endemic plants, fish, frogs, reptiles and mammals that are restricted to this river basin. Martenstyn’s Barb Systomus martenstyni (Sinhala name: Dumbara Pethia) is one such endemic freshwater fish species restricted to the Mahaweli Basin.

Section Editor: Sujan Henkanaththegedara