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Species diversity and threat status of amphibians in the Kanneliya Forest, lowland Sri Lanka

Herein, we present findings of a preliminary study on amphibian diversity in Kanneliya Forest Reserve in the Galle district, in the lowland wet zone of Southwestern Sri Lanka. We speculate the amphibian species diversity, their habitats and the various threats they face in this area. We recorded 33 species of amphibians, which represent about 30% of the island’s amphibian fauna described today. A few species were recorded for the first time in this forest area including Pseudophilautus auratus, P. nemus and P. tanu. The study included 26 endemic species and three species threatened on the national level. Among the observed, two species are potentially new for science and there is a need for more taxonomic and molecular studies to confirm their status. Kanneliya forest area supports wide amphibian diversity and also nourishes the Gin Ganga, one of the main rivers in the southern province. However, human activities such as burning, tea cultivation and habitat fragmentation are threatening this extremely important forest and more than 95 percent of Sri Lanka’s primary forest is already gone.

Wet zone rainforest; frogs; endemism; conservation; Pseudophilautus

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