Diversity of Soil Invertebrate Communities near the Gohagoda Dumping Site and dawattakele Forest Reserve in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Tiger Beetles are one of the most studied caraboid groups in the world which includes highly

predacious active adults and sedentary larvae. Over 2300 species of tiger beetles have been

described and are found worldwide except in Antarctica, the Arctic and very remote isolated

oceanic islands. The Indian subcontinent is reported to have a rich diversity of tiger beetles

with over 150 described species belonging to a single genus Cicindela (sensu lat.). Sri Lanka

is considered as a global hot spot of tiger beetle diversity with 32 species out of the 55

recorded species being endemic to the country despite the smaller land extent compared to

other countries of the Indian subcontinent. The recorded species belong to thirteen genera of

which sub genus Ifasina consists of eight species of which the majority are endemic to Sri

Lanka. Cylindera (Ifasina) waterhousei Horn 1900 is an endemic tiger beetle species which

belongs to sub-genus Ifasina Jeannel, 1946. Examination of past distribution records

available from 1984 to 2011 indicates the occurrence of C. waterhousei from six locations in

the western Province and sabaragamuwa Province-kitulgala, Kegalle district, sabaragamuwa

Province (1979); Karawanella, Kegalle district, sabaragamuwa Province (1979);

Awissawella, Colombo district, western Province (1979); Labugama, Colombo district,

western Province (1979); Ratnapura district, sabaragamuwa Province (1979), Bopath Ella,

Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province (2003). In the present study conducted in August

2014, fifteen specimens of this species were collected from sandy banks of a tributary of Kalu

Ganga in Ingiriya and Domabagaskanda Forest Reserve in Kalutara district where it has not

been recorded before despite the extensive surveys conducted in the past. Further, specimens

were also collected from Bopath Ella, Ratnapura district. This is the first time that C.

waterhousei has been recorded from Kalutara district even though the species has been

recorded in other locations of the western Province. Sampling was conducted by visual

encounter surveys (VES) along 100 m transect. During 2003 to 2010 period this endemic

species was reported only from the sandy banks of Bopath Ella in Ratnapura District. These

new records indicate a possible range expansion for the species and contribute largely to the

knowledge on distribution of C. waterhousei in Sri Lanka.

Keywords: Tiger Beetles, Endemic, Cylindera (Ifasina) waterhousei, Kalutara district