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:
EXExtinctNo reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
EWExtinct in the wildKnown only to survive in captivity or as naturalized populations well outside its previous range.
CRCritically endangeredThe species is in imminent risk of extinction in the wild.
ENEndangeredThe species is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
VUVulnerableThe species is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
NTNear threatenedThe 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.
LCLeast concernThere are no current identifiable risks to the species.
DDData deficientThere 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/cdLower risk/conservation dependentSpecies which were the focus of conservation programmes and may have moved into a higher risk category if that programme had been discontinued.
LR/ntLower risk/near threatenedSpecies which are close to being classified as vulnerable, but are not the subject of conservation programmes.
LR/lcLower risk/least concernSpecies 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Asian elephant
අලියා
Elephas maximusSri 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Dugong
මුහුදු ඌරා
Dugong dugongVulnerable

Order: [Primate]s

The order Primates contains humans and their closest relatives: lemurs, lorisoids, monkeys, and apes.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Indian porcupine
ඉත්තෑවා
Hystrix indicaLeast 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 philippensisLeast concern
Travancore flying squirrel
හීන් හම්බාවා
Petinomys fuscocapillusPetinomys fuscocapillus layardiNear threatened
Indian palm squirrel
ලේනා
Funambulus palmarumFunambulus palmarum palmarumLeast concern
Layard's palm squirrel
ශ්‍රී ලංකා මූකලන් ලේනා
Funambulus layardiVulnerable
Dusky palm squirrel
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුංචි ලේනා
Funambulus obscurusVulnerable
Indian gerbil
වැලි මීයා
Tatera indicaLeast concern
Lesser bandicoot rat
මහ ඌරු මීයා
Bandicota bengalensisLeast concern
Greater bandicoot rat
හීන් ඌරු මීයා
Bandicota indicaLeast concern
Blanford's rat
වලිග සුදු වන මීයා
Madromys blanfordiLeast concern
Indian bush rat
පදුරු මීයා
Golunda elliotiLeast concern
Soft-furred rat
කෙස් මුදු කෙත් මීයා
Millardia meltadaLeast concern
Little Indian field mouse
වෙල් හීන් මීයා
Mus boodugaLeast concern
Ceylon spiny mouse
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ක‍ටු හීන් මීයා
Mus fernandoniEndangered
Mayor's mouse
ශ්‍රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ ක‍ටු හීන් මීයා
Mus mayoriVulnerable
House mouse
ගෙවල් මීයා
Mus musculusMus musculus castaneusLeast concern
Nillu rat
නෙලූ මීයා
Rattus montanusEndangered
Brown rat
පොදු ගේ මීයා
Rattus norvegicusLeast concern
Ohiya rat
ශ්‍රී ලංකා දෙපැහැ මීයා
Srilankamys ohiensisVulnerable
Asiatic long-tailed climbing mouse
ගස් මීයා
Vandeleuria oleraceaLeast 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Indian hare
වල් හාවා
Lepus nigricollisLepus nigricollis singhalaLeast 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Horsefield's shrew
කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura horsfieldiiData deficient
Sri Lankan long-tailed shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura miyaEndangered
Sinharaja shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සිංහරාජ කුණු හික් මීයා
Crocidura hikmiyaEndangered
Kelaart's long-clawed shrew
පිරි හික් මීයා
Feroculus feroculusEndangered
Pearson's long-clawed shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිය දිගු මාහික් මීයා
Solisorex pearsoniEndangered
Etruscan shrew
පොඩි හික් මීයා
Suncus etruscusLeast concern
Sri Lanka shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොඩි හික් මීයා
Suncus fellowesgordoniEndangered
Sri Lanka highland shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කදු හික් මීයා
Suncus montanusVulnerable
Asian house shrew
පොදු හික් මීයා
Suncus murinusLeast concern
Jungle shrew
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කැලෑ හික් මීයා
Suncus zeylanicusEndangered

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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Lesser short-nosed fruit bat
හීන් තල වවුලා
Cynopterus brachyotisLeast concern
Greater short-nosed fruit bat
තල වවුලා
Cynopterus sphinxLeast concern
Indian flying fox
මා වවුලා
Pteropus giganteusLeast concern
Leschenault's rousette
බොර කහ පලා වවුලා
Rousettus leschenaultiLeast concern
Hardwicke's woolly bat
රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා
Kerivoula hardwickiiLeast concern
Painted bat
රත් බොර කිරි වවුලා
Kerivoula pictaLeast concern
Lesser large-footed bat
බොර වවුලා
Myotis hasseltiiLeast concern
Chocolate pipistrelle
බොර හීන් වවුලා
Falsistrellus affinisLeast concern
Tickell's bat
අවර වවුලා
Hesperoptenus tickelliLeast concern
Kelaart's pipistrelle
රත් බොර කොස්ඇට වවුලා
Pipistrellus ceylonicusLeast concern
Indian pipistrelle
ඉන්දු කොස්ඇට වවුලා
Pipistrellus coromandraLeast concern
Greater Asiatic yellow bat
මහ කහ වවුලා
Scotophilus heathiLeast concern
Lesser Asiatic yellow bat
හීන් කහ වවුලා
Scotophilus kuhliiLeast concern
Round-eared tube-nosed bat
නළ නැහැ වවුලා
Murina cyclotisLeast concern
Eastern bent-wing bat
දික්පිය වවුලා
Miniopterus fuliginosusLeast concern
Wrinkle-lipped free-tailed bat
පොදු ‍රැලිතොල් වවුලා
Chaerephon plicataLeast concern
Egyptian free-tailed bat
මහදිව් ‍රැලිතොල් වවුලා
Tadarida aegyptiacaLeast concern
Naked-rumped pouched bat
පැස්පිරී වවුලා
Saccolaimus saccolaimusLeast concern
Long-winged tomb bat
දික්බා කෙපුලුම් වවුලා
Taphozous longimanusLeast concern
Black-bearded tomb bat
රැවුලකලු කෙපුලුම් වවුලා
Taphozous longimanusLeast concern
Greater false vampire bat
මහ බොරු ලේ වවුලා
Megaderma lyraLeast concern
Lesser false vampire bat
කන්දිගු බොරු ලේ වවුලා
Megaderma spasmaLeast concern
Lesser woolly horseshoe bat
හීන් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා
Rhinolophus beddomeiLeast concern
Woolly horseshoe bat
අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා
Rhinolophus luctusLeast concern
Rufous horseshoe bat
බොරත් අස්ලාඩම් වවුලා
Rhinolophus rouxiLeast concern
Dusky leaf-nosed bat
දෙපැහැ පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros aterLeast concern
Fulvus roundleaf bat
මැලෑකහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros fulvusLeast concern
Cantor's roundleaf bat
කෙස්දිගු පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros galeritusLeast concern
Indian roundleaf bat
මහ පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros lankadivaLeast concern
Schneider's leaf-nosed bat
කෙස්කෙටි පත්නැහැ වවුලා
Hipposideros speorisLeast 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Indian pangolin
කබල්ලෑවා
Manis crassicaudataEndangered

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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Minke whale
මින්කි තල්මසා
Balaenoptera acutorostrataDwarf minke whaleLeast concern
Bryde's whale
බ්ර්ය්ඩ් තල්මසා
Balaenoptera edeniIndo-Pacific Bryde's whaleData deficient
Blue whale
නිල් තල්මසා
Balaenoptera musculusPygmy blue whale,
Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda
Endangered
Fin whale
වරල් තල්මසා
Balaenoptera physalusSouthern fin whale,
Balaenoptera physalus quoyi
Endangered
Humpback whale
මොල්ලි තල්මසා
Megaptera novaeangliaeMegaptera novaeangliae Endangered
Finless porpoise
අවරල් දෙනුවා
Neophocaena phocaenoidesNeophocaena phocaenoides phocaenoidesVulnerable
Sperm whale
මන්ද තල්මසා
Physeter macrocephalusVulnerable
Pygmy sperm whale
කුරු මන්ද තල්මසා
Kogia brevicepsData deficient
Dwarf sperm whale
මිටි මන්ද තල්මසා
Kogia simaData deficient
Cuvier's beaked whale
කුවියර් උල් තල්මසා
Ziphius cavirostrisLeast concern
Blainville's beaked whale
බ්ලේයින් හොබු තල්මසා
Mesoplodon densirostrisData deficient
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale
හොබු තල්මසා
Mesoplodon ginkgodensData deficient
Deraniyagala's beaked whale
දැරණිලගලගේ උල්හොට තල්මසා
Mesoplodon hotaula-
Rough-toothed dolphin
රලුදත් මුල්ලා
Steno bredanensisData deficient
Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin
ඉන්දු ශාන්තිකර මොල්ලි මුල්ලා
Sousa chinensisPlumbea-typeNear threatened
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin
ඉන්දු පැසි‍ෆික් බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා
Tursiops aduncusData deficient
Bottlenose dolphin
බෝතල්නාස මුල්ලා
Tursiops truncatusTursiops truncatus Least concern
Pantropical spotted dolphin
තිත් මුල්ලා
Stenella attenuataStenella attenuata attenuataLeast concern
Striped dolphin
වෛරම් මුල්ලා
Stenella coeruleoalbaLeast concern
Spinner dolphin
බමන මුල්ලා
Stenella longirostrisStenella longirostris longirostrisData deficient
Fraser's dolphin
කෙටිහොට මුල්ලා
Lagenodelphis hoseiLeast concern
Risso's dolphin
අළු මුල්ලා
Grampus griseusLeast concern
Melon-headed whale
පුහුල් ඔළු මුල්ලා
Peponocephala electraLeast concern
Pygmy killer whale
කුරු මිනී තල්මසා
Feresa attenuataData deficient
False killer whale
බොරු මිනී තල්මසා
Pseudorca crassidensData deficient
Killer whale
මිනී තල්මසා
Orcinus orcaData deficient
Short-finned pilot whale
නියමු තල්මසා
Globicephala macrorhynchusData 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Domestic cat
බළලා / පූසා
Felis catusDomesticated
Jungle cat
වල් බළලා / වල් බාවා
Felis chausSri Lankan jungle cat,
Felis chaus kelaarti
Least concern
Rusty-spotted cat
කොල දිවියා
Prionailurus rubiginosusPrionailurus rubiginosus phillipsiNear threatened
Fishing cat
හදුන් දිවියා
Prionailurus viverrinusVulnerable
Leopard
දිවියා
Panthera pardusSri Lankan leopard,
Panthera pardus kotiya
Endangered
Asian palm civet
කලවැද්දා
Paradoxurus hermaphroditusLeast concern
Golden wet zone palm civet
රන් කලවැද්දා
Paradoxurus aureusSplit 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 indicaViverricula indica mayoriLeast concern
Indian gray mongoose
මුගටියා
Herpestes edwardsiiLeast concern
Indian brown mongoose
බොර මුගටියා
Herpestes fuscusLeast concern
Ruddy mongoose
හෝතබුවා
Herpestes smithiiLeast concern
Stripe-necked mongoose
මහ මුගටියා
Herpestes vitticollisHerpestes vitticollis vitticollisLeast concern
Golden jackal
හිවලා
Canis aureusSri Lankan golden jackal,
Canis aureus naria
Least concern
Domestic dog
බල්ලා / සුනඛයා
Canis lupusCanis lupus familiarisDomesticated
Sloth bear
මන්ද වලහා
Melursus ursinusSri Lankan sloth bear,
Melursus ursinus inornatus
Vulnerable
European otter
දිය බල්ලා
Lutra lutraLutra lutra nairNear 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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Wild boar
වල් ඌරා
Sus scrofaIndian boar,
Sus scrofa cristatus
Least concern
Domestic pig
ඌරා
Sus scrofaSus scrofa domesticusDomesticated
Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සුදු තිත් මීමින්නා
Moschiola meminnaLeast concern
Sri Lankan yellow-striped chevrotain
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කහ ඉරි මීමින්නා
Moschiola kathygreLeast concern
Sambar deer
ගෝනා
Rusa unicolorSri Lankan sambar deer,
Rusa unicolor unicolor
Vulnerable
Indian hog deer
විල් මුවා
Hyelaphus porcinusHyelaphus porcinus porcinusEndangered
Chital
තිත් මුවා
Axis axisSri Lankan axis deer,
Axis axis ceylonensis
Least concern
Indian muntjac
ඕලු මුවා / වැලි මුවා
Muntiacus muntjakMuntiacus muntjak malabaricusLeast concern
Wild water buffalo
කුළු මීහරකා
Bubalus arneeBubalus arnee migonaEndangered
Domestic water buffalo
මීහරකා
Bubalus bubalisBubalus bubalisDomesticated
Zebu
හරකා / ගොනා
Bos taurusBos taurus indicusDomesticated
Goat
එළුවා
Capra aegagrusCapra aegagrus hircusDomesticated

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.
NameBinomialSubspeciesStatus
Delft pony
ඩෙල්ෆ්ට් පෝනියා
Equus ferusEquus ferus cabellusDomesticated
Donkey
බූරුවා
Equus africanusEquus africanus asinusDomesticated