List of mammals of Sri Lanka
This is a list of the mammal species recorded in Sri Lanka. There are 125 mammal species in Sri Lanka, of which one is critically endangered, ten are endangered, ten are vulnerable, and three are near threatened.
The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature:
| EX | Extinct | No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. |
| EW | Extinct in the wild | Known only to survive in captivity or as naturalized populations well outside its previous range. |
| CR | Critically endangered | The species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild. |
| EN | Endangered | The species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. |
| VU | Vulnerable | The species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. |
| NT | Near threatened | The species does not yet meet any of the criteria that would categorise it as risking extinction, but it is likely to do so in the future. |
| LC | Least concern | There are no current identifiable risks to the species. |
| DD | Data deficient | There is inadequate information to make an assessment of the risks to this species. |
Some species were assessed using an earlier set of criteria. Species assessed using this system have the following instead of near threatened and least concern categories:
| LR/cd | Lower risk/conservation dependent | Species which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme had been discontinued. |
| LR/nt | Lower risk/near threatened | Species which are close to being classified as vulnerable, but are not the subject of conservation programmes. |
| LR/lc | Lower risk/least concern | Species for which there are no identifiable risks. |
Mammalian diversity
Subclass: [Theria]
Infraclass: [Eutheria]
Order: [Proboscidea] (elephants)
The elephants comprise three living species and are the largest living land animals.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Asian elephant අලියා | Elephas maximus | • Sri Lankan elephant, Elephas maximus maximus | Endangered |
Order: [Sirenia] (manatees and dugongs)
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries, coastal marine waters, swamps, and marine wetlands. All four species are endangered.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Dugong මුහුදු ඌරා | Dugong dugong | Vulnerable |
Order: [Primate]s
The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Gray slender loris අලු උණහපුලුවා | Loris lydekkerianus | • Northern Ceylonese slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus nordicus • Highland slender loris, Loris lydekkerianus grandis | Least concern |
| Red slender loris ශ්රී ලංකා රත් උණහපුලුවා | Loris tardigradus | • Mountain slender loris, Loris tardigradus nycticeboides • Lowland slender loris, Loris tardigradus tardigradus | Endangered |
| Toque macaque රිලවා | Macaca sinica | • Dryzone toque macaque, Macaca sinica sinica • Wetzone toque macaque, Macaca sinica aurifrons • Highland toque macaque, Macaca sinica opisthomelas | Endangered |
| Tufted gray langur හැලි වඳුරා | Semnopithecus priam | • Sri Lanka tufted grey langur, Semnopithecus priam thersites | Near threatened |
| Purple-faced langur ශ්රී ලංකා කලු වඳුරා | Trachypithecus vetulus | • Southern lowland wetzone purple-faced langur, Trachypithecus vetulus vetulus • Western purple-faced langur, Trachypithecus vetulus nestor • Dryzone purple-faced langur, Trachypithecus vetulus philbricki • Bear monkey, Trachypithecus vetulus monticola • Northern purple-faced langur, Trachypithecus vetulus harti | Endangered |
Order: [Rodent]ia (rodents)
Rodents make up the largest order of mammals, with over 40% of mammalian species. They have two incisors in the upper and lower jaw which grow continually and must be kept short by gnawing. Most rodents are small though the capybara can weigh up to.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Indian porcupine ඉත්තෑවා | Hystrix indica | Least concern | |
| Grizzled giant squirrel දඬු ලේනා | Ratufa macroura | • Highland giant squirrel, Ratufa macroura macroura • Dryzone giant squirrel, Ratufa macroura dandolena • Intermediate giant squirrel, Ratufa macroura melanochra | Near threatened |
| Indian giant flying squirrel මහ හම්බාවා | Petaurista philippensis | Least concern | |
| Travancore flying squirrel හීන් හම්බාවා | Petinomys fuscocapillus | • Petinomys fuscocapillus layardi | Near threatened |
| Indian palm squirrel ලේනා | Funambulus palmarum | • Funambulus palmarum palmarum | Least concern |
| Layard's palm squirrel ශ්රී ලංකා මූකලන් ලේනා | Funambulus layardi | Vulnerable | |
| Dusky palm squirrel ශ්රී ලංකා පුංචි ලේනා | Funambulus obscurus | Vulnerable | |
| Indian gerbil වැලි මීයා | Tatera indica | Least concern | |
| Lesser bandicoot rat මහ ඌරු මීයා | Bandicota bengalensis | Least concern | |
| Greater bandicoot rat හීන් ඌරු මීයා | Bandicota indica | Least concern | |
| Blanford's rat වලිග සුදු වන මීයා | Madromys blanfordi | Least concern | |
| Indian bush rat පදුරු මීයා | Golunda ellioti | Least concern | |
| Soft-furred rat කෙස් මුදු කෙත් මීයා | Millardia meltada | Least concern | |
| Little Indian field mouse වෙල් හීන් මීයා | Mus booduga | Least concern | |
| Ceylon spiny mouse ශ්රී ලංකා කටු හීන් මීයා | Mus fernandoni | Endangered | |
| Mayor's mouse ශ්රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ කටු හීන් මීයා | Mus mayori | Vulnerable | |
| House mouse ගෙවල් මීයා | Mus musculus | Mus musculus castaneus | Least concern |
| Nillu rat නෙලූ මීයා | Rattus montanus | Endangered | |
| Brown rat පොදු ගේ මීයා | Rattus norvegicus | Least concern | |
| Ohiya rat ශ්රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ මීයා | Srilankamys ohiensis | Vulnerable | |
| Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse ගස් මීයා | Vandeleuria oleracea | Least concern |
Order: [Lagomorpha] (lagomorphs)
The lagomorphs comprise two families, Leporidae, and Ochotonidae. Though they can resemble rodents, and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early 20th century, they have since been considered a separate order. They differ from rodents in a number of physical characteristics, such as having four incisors in the upper jaw rather than two.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Indian hare වල් හාවා | Lepus nigricollis | Lepus nigricollis singhala | Least concern |
Order: [Soricomorpha] (shrews, moles, and solenodons)
The "shrew-forms" are insectivorous mammals. The shrews and solenodons closely resemble mice, while the moles are stout-bodied burrowers.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Horsefield's shrew කුණු හික් මීයා | Crocidura horsfieldii | Data deficient | |
| Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew ශ්රී ලංකා කුණු හික් මීයා | Crocidura miya | Endangered | |
| Sinharaja shrew ශ්රී ලංකා සිංහරාජ කුණු හික් මීයා | Crocidura hikmiya | Endangered | |
| Kelaart's long-clawed shrew පිරි හික් මීයා | Feroculus feroculus | Endangered | |
| Pearson's long-clawed shrew ශ්රී ලංකා නිය දිගු මාහික් මීයා | Solisorex pearsoni | Endangered | |
| Etruscan shrew පොඩි හික් මීයා | Suncus etruscus | Least concern | |
| Sri Lanka shrew ශ්රී ලංකා පොඩි හික් මීයා | Suncus fellowesgordoni | Endangered | |
| Sri Lanka highland shrew ශ්රී ලංකා කදු හික් මීයා | Suncus montanus | Vulnerable | |
| Asian house shrew පොදු හික් මීයා | Suncus murinus | Least concern | |
| Jungle shrew ශ්රී ලංකා කැලෑ හික් මීයා | Suncus zeylanicus | Endangered |
Order: [Chiroptera] (bats)
The bats' most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed as wings, making them the only mammals capable of flight. Bat species account for about 20% of all mammals.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Lesser short-nosed fruit bat හීන් තල වවුලා | Cynopterus brachyotis | Least concern | |
| Greater short-nosed fruit bat තල වවුලා | Cynopterus sphinx | Least concern | |
| Indian flying fox මා වවුලා | Pteropus giganteus | Least concern | |
| Leschenault's rousette බොර කහ පලා වවුලා | Rousettus leschenaulti | Least concern | |
| Hardwicke's woolly bat රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා | Kerivoula hardwickii | Least concern | |
| Painted bat රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා | Kerivoula picta | Least concern | |
| Lesser large-footed bat බොර වවුලා | Myotis hasseltii | Least concern | |
| Chocolate pipistrelle බොර හීන් වවුලා | Falsistrellus affinis | Least concern | |
| Tickell's bat අවර වවුලා | Hesperoptenus tickelli | Least concern | |
| Kelaart's pipistrelle රත් බොර කොස්ඇට වවුලා | Pipistrellus ceylonicus | Least concern | |
| Indian pipistrelle ඉන්දු කොස්ඇට වවුලා | Pipistrellus coromandra | Least concern | |
| Greater Asiatic yellow bat මහ කහ වවුලා | Scotophilus heathi | Least concern | |
| Lesser Asiatic yellow bat හීන් කහ වවුලා | Scotophilus kuhlii | Least concern | |
| Round-eared tube-nosed bat නළ නැහැ වවුලා | Murina cyclotis | Least concern | |
| Eastern bent-wing bat දික්පිය වවුලා | Miniopterus fuliginosus | Least concern | |
| Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat පොදු රැලිතොල් වවුලා | Chaerephon plicata | Least concern | |
| Egyptian free-tailed bat මහදිව් රැලිතොල් වවුලා | Tadarida aegyptiaca | Least concern | |
| Naked-rumped pouched bat පැස්පිරී වවුලා | Saccolaimus saccolaimus | Least concern | |
| Long-winged tomb bat දික්බා කෙපුලුම් වවුලා | Taphozous longimanus | Least concern | |
| Black-bearded tomb bat රැවුලකලු කෙපුලුම් වවුලා | Taphozous longimanus | Least concern | |
| Greater false vampire bat මහ බොරු ලේ වවුලා | Megaderma lyra | Least concern | |
| Lesser false vampire bat කන්දිගු බොරු ලේ වවුලා | Megaderma spasma | Least concern | |
| Lesser woolly horseshoe bat හීන් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා | Rhinolophus beddomei | Least concern | |
| Woolly horseshoe bat අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා | Rhinolophus luctus | Least concern | |
| Rufous horseshoe bat බොරත් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා | Rhinolophus rouxi | Least concern | |
| Dusky leaf-nosed bat දෙපැහැ පත්නැහැ වවුලා | Hipposideros ater | Least concern | |
| Fulvus roundleaf bat මැලෑකහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා | Hipposideros fulvus | Least concern | |
| Cantor's roundleaf bat කෙස්දිගු පත්නැහැ වවුලා | Hipposideros galeritus | Least concern | |
| Indian roundleaf bat මහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා | Hipposideros lankadiva | Least concern | |
| Schneider's leaf-nosed bat කෙස්කෙටි පත්නැහැ වවුලා | Hipposideros speoris | Least concern |
Order: [Pholidota] (pangolins)
The order Pholidota comprises the eight species of pangolin. Pangolins are anteaters and have the powerful claws, elongated snout and long tongue seen in the other unrelated anteater species.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Indian pangolin කබල්ලෑවා | Manis crassicaudata | Endangered |
Order: [Cetacea] (cetaceans)
The order Cetacea includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. They are the mammals most fully adapted to aquatic life with a spindle-shaped nearly hairless body, protected by a thick layer of blubber, and forelimbs and tail modified to provide propulsion underwater.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Minke whale මින්කි තල්මසා | Balaenoptera acutorostrata | Dwarf minke whale | Least concern |
| Bryde's whale බ්ර්ය්ඩ් තල්මසා | Balaenoptera edeni | Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale | Data deficient |
| Blue whale නිල් තල්මසා | Balaenoptera musculus | Pygmy blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda | Endangered |
| Fin whale වරල් තල්මසා | Balaenoptera physalus | Southern fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus quoyi | Endangered |
| Humpback whale මොල්ලි තල්මසා | Megaptera novaeangliae | Megaptera novaeangliae | Endangered |
| Finless porpoise අවරල් දෙනුවා | Neophocaena phocaenoides | Neophocaena phocaenoides phocaenoides | Vulnerable |
| Sperm whale මන්ද තල්මසා | Physeter macrocephalus | Vulnerable | |
| Pygmy sperm whale කුරු මන්ද තල්මසා | Kogia breviceps | Data deficient | |
| Dwarf sperm whale මිටි මන්ද තල්මසා | Kogia sima | Data deficient | |
| Cuvier's beaked whale කුවියර් උල් තල්මසා | Ziphius cavirostris | Least concern | |
| Blainville's beaked whale බ්ලේයින් හොබු තල්මසා | Mesoplodon densirostris | Data deficient | |
| Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale හොබු තල්මසා | Mesoplodon ginkgodens | Data deficient | |
| Deraniyagala's beaked whale දැරණිලගලගේ උල්හොට තල්මසා | Mesoplodon hotaula | - | |
| Rough-toothed dolphin රලුදත් මුල්ලා | Steno bredanensis | Data deficient | |
| Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin ඉන්දු ශාන්තිකර මොල්ලි මුල්ලා | Sousa chinensis | Plumbea-type | Near threatened |
| Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin ඉන්දු පැසිෆික් බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා | Tursiops aduncus | Data deficient | |
| Bottlenose dolphin බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා | Tursiops truncatus | Tursiops truncatus | Least concern |
| Pantropical spotted dolphin තිත් මුල්ලා | Stenella attenuata | Stenella attenuata attenuata | Least concern |
| Striped dolphin වෛරම් මුල්ලා | Stenella coeruleoalba | Least concern | |
| Spinner dolphin බමන මුල්ලා | Stenella longirostris | Stenella longirostris longirostris | Data deficient |
| Fraser's dolphin කෙටිහොට මුල්ලා | Lagenodelphis hosei | Least concern | |
| Risso's dolphin අළු මුල්ලා | Grampus griseus | Least concern | |
| Melon-headed whale පුහුල් ඔළු මුල්ලා | Peponocephala electra | Least concern | |
| Pygmy killer whale කුරු මිනී තල්මසා | Feresa attenuata | Data deficient | |
| False killer whale බොරු මිනී තල්මසා | Pseudorca crassidens | Data deficient | |
| Killer whale මිනී තල්මසා | Orcinus orca | Data deficient | |
| Short-finned pilot whale නියමු තල්මසා | Globicephala macrorhynchus | Data deficient |
Order: [Carnivora] (carnivorans)
There are over 260 species of carnivorans, the majority of which feed primarily on meat. They have a characteristic skull shape and dentition.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Domestic cat බළලා / පූසා | Felis catus | Domesticated | |
| Jungle cat වල් බළලා / වල් බාවා | Felis chaus | Sri Lankan jungle cat, Felis chaus kelaarti | Least concern |
| Rusty-spotted cat කොල දිවියා | Prionailurus rubiginosus | Prionailurus rubiginosus phillipsi | Near threatened |
| Fishing cat හදුන් දිවියා | Prionailurus viverrinus | Vulnerable | |
| Leopard දිවියා | Panthera pardus | Sri Lankan leopard, Panthera pardus kotiya | Endangered |
| Asian palm civet කලවැද්දා | Paradoxurus hermaphroditus | Least concern | |
| Golden wet zone palm civet රන් කලවැද්දා | Paradoxurus aureus | Split into species. | |
| Sri Lanka golden striped-backed palm civet ශ්රී ලංකා බොර කලවැද්දා | Paradoxurus stenocephalus | ||
| Sri Lanka brown palm civet ශ්රී ලංකා බොර කලවැද්දා | Paradoxurus montanus | ||
| Small Indian civet උරුලෑවා | Viverricula indica | Viverricula indica mayori | Least concern |
| Indian gray mongoose මුගටියා | Herpestes edwardsii | Least concern | |
| Indian brown mongoose බොර මුගටියා | Herpestes fuscus | Least concern | |
| Ruddy mongoose හෝතබුවා | Herpestes smithii | Least concern | |
| Stripe-necked mongoose මහ මුගටියා | Herpestes vitticollis | Herpestes vitticollis vitticollis | Least concern |
| Golden jackal හිවලා | Canis aureus | Sri Lankan golden jackal, Canis aureus naria | Least concern |
| Domestic dog බල්ලා / සුනඛයා | Canis lupus | Canis lupus familiaris | Domesticated |
| Sloth bear මන්ද වලහා | Melursus ursinus | Sri Lankan sloth bear, Melursus ursinus inornatus | Vulnerable |
| European otter දිය බල්ලා | Lutra lutra | Lutra lutra nair | Near threatened |
Order: [Artiodactyla] (even-toed ungulates)
The even-toed ungulates are ungulates whose weight is borne about equally by the third and fourth toes, rather than mostly or entirely by the third as in perissodactyls. There are about 220 artiodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Wild boar වල් ඌරා | Sus scrofa | Indian boar, Sus scrofa cristatus | Least concern |
| Domestic pig ඌරා | Sus scrofa | Sus scrofa domesticus | Domesticated |
| Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain ශ්රී ලංකා සුදු තිත් මීමින්නා | Moschiola meminna | Least concern | |
| Sri Lankan yellow-striped chevrotain ශ්රී ලංකා කහ ඉරි මීමින්නා | Moschiola kathygre | Least concern | |
| Sambar deer ගෝනා | Rusa unicolor | Sri Lankan sambar deer, Rusa unicolor unicolor | Vulnerable |
| Indian hog deer විල් මුවා | Hyelaphus porcinus | Hyelaphus porcinus porcinus | Endangered |
| Chital තිත් මුවා | Axis axis | Sri Lankan axis deer, Axis axis ceylonensis | Least concern |
| Indian muntjac ඕලු මුවා / වැලි මුවා | Muntiacus muntjak | Muntiacus muntjak malabaricus | Least concern |
| Wild water buffalo කුළු මීහරකා | Bubalus arnee | Bubalus arnee migona | Endangered |
| Domestic water buffalo මීහරකා | Bubalus bubalis | Bubalus bubalis | Domesticated |
| Zebu හරකා / ගොනා | Bos taurus | Bos taurus indicus | Domesticated |
| Goat එළුවා | Capra aegagrus | Capra aegagrus hircus | Domesticated |
Order: [Perissodactyla] (odd-toed ungulates)
The odd-toed ungulates are ungulates that are equally important as Artiodactyls. There are about 17 perissodactyl species, including many that are of great economic importance to humans.| Name | Binomial | Subspecies | Status |
| Delft pony ඩෙල්ෆ්ට් පෝනියා | Equus ferus | Equus ferus cabellus | Domesticated |
| Donkey බූරුවා | Equus africanus | Equus africanus asinus | Domesticated |