Georegion: Asia - Southern Asia - Sri Lanka

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· For print:      Citation: AntWeb. Version 8.91.2. California Academy of Science, online at https://www.antweb.org. Accessed .

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Specimens: 381
Images: 3,880
Imaged Specimens: 331

Subfamilies: 11
Genera: 79
Species/Subspecies: 340

Valid Species/Subspecies: 221

  Endemic: 86
  Introduced: 15

Himender Bharti and R.K.Sriyani Dias

Contents:

Sri Lanka lies on the Indian Plate, a major tectonic plate that was formerly part of the Indo-Australian Plate. It is situated in the Indian Ocean southwest of the Bay of Bengal, between latitudes 5° and 10°N, and longitudes 79° and 82°E. Sri Lanka is one of the 25 biodiversity hotspots in the world. The country has the highest biodiversity density in Asia with 27% of the 3,210 flowering plants and 22% of the mammals being endemic to Sri Lanka.

The ant fauna of Sri Lanka includes 10 of the 22 known subfamilies (Amblyoponinae, Aneuretinae, Dolichoderinae, Dorylinae, Ectatomminae, Formicinae, Leptanillinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae, Pseudomyrmecinae). The current species list includes 234 valid species from 63 genera.

Author:

Himender Bharti and R.K.Sriyani Dias

Author Bio:

Dr. Himender Bharti is based at the Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala, India. He is actively engaged in Biogeography, Natural History, Taxonomy, Phylogeny, Ecology, Conservation Biology, Red listing and Chemical Ecology of Indian ants. Besides, he is also involved in studying ants of adjoining regions (Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Srilanka and Myanmar) to elucidate the biogeographic patterns of ants in Asia. Dr.R. K. Sriyani Dias is Professor at the Department of Zoology and Environment management, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Her prime area of research is ants and she is actively involved in the diversity, biology and ecology of Sri Lankan ants.