Dark Knob-tipped Shadowdamsel (Ceylonosticta montana)

An endemic damselfly occurs in small streams and seeps of the montane forests from 1000 to 2000 m elevations. 

Adam's Shadowdamsel (Ceylonosticta adami)

Adam's Shadowdamsel is one of the rarest endemic damselfly so far recorded only from few localities of the Knuckles range and its outskirts in the north-central part of the country . It was originally described from specimens collected from Madugoda near Urugalla in 1932 by F.C. Fraser.  After more than seven decades Karen Conniff observed and photographed it in Simpson's forest near Hunnasfalls in April 2006 and again in October 2007 and 2010. Karen Conniff and Matjaz Bedjanic observed a single juvenile female near Urugalla in end of May 2009. Matjaz Bedjanic also reported it from two streams in Simpson's forest in October 2012. Above pictures were taken at Dothalugala Camp Site area of the Knuckles mountain range.

Serendib Forestdamsel (Platysticta serendibica)

Common endemic damselfly inhabiting small streams in secondary and primary forests as well as the degraded habitats of the central and southwestern parts of the country. Much common in the wet low country but occurs also up to about 1000 m a.s.l. in the hills.  

මහනුවර පඳුරු මැඩියා/Kandyan Shrub Frog(Pseudophilautus rus)

An endemic shrub frog common in low vegetation, leaf litter, moss covered stones and logs in both shaded forests as well as the anthropogenic habitats of the Kandy district from 500-800 m a.s.l. It is very active at dusk and can be seen calling from leaves and branches of shrubs less than 1 m above the ground. It hides inside leaf litter, crevices in trees and cracks in the soil during the day time. So far it has been reported from Kandy, Peradeniya, Gelioya, Gampola, etc. Peabotuwage et. al. recorded it from Uda Maliboda trail of the Samanala Nature Reserve in 2012. This one was also photographed in the same trail at a tributary of Seethawaka Ganga river.

Peabotuwage I, Bandara IN, Samarasinghe D, Perera N, Madawala M, Amarasinghe C, Kandambi HKD, Karunarathna DMSS. 2012. Range extension for Duttaphrynus kotagamai (Amphibia: Bufonidae) and a preliminary checklist of herpetofauna from the Uda Mäliboda Trail in Samanala
Nature Reserve, Sri Lanka. Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 5(2):52-64(e38).

මුක්කං හොඹු ඇති පඳුරු මැඩියා/Pug nosed Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus silus)

An endemic shrub frog inhabiting stream banks of both closed canopy rain forests and  open anthropogenic habitats from 1550 to 1600 m elevations. Two populations occurs near Agarapatana and Haputale on either side of the Horton plains plateau.  As per Anslem de Silva another population  found in Mandaramnuwara (de Silva A, 2009). This one was photographed at Bambarakanda waterfalls close to the Thangamale sanctuary where Haputale population was recorded.

විශාල පාදැති පඳුරු මැඩියා/Bigfoot Shrub Frog(Pseudophilautus macropus)

An endemic shrub frog occurs only in the Knuckles massif from 600 to 760 m elevations. It found only on boulders and rock crevices in or adjacent to the streams flowing through both closed and open canopy habitats and rarely on tree trunks along stream banks.  

දුම්බර පඳුරු මැඩියා/Knuckles Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus fulvus)

An endemic shrub frog restricted to the Knuckles range from 450 to 1220 m elevations, inhabiting closed canopy habitats of natural forests, secondary forests, Cardamom cultivation and home gardens. It can be observed during the night on branches, tree trunks and moss-covered rocks. 

කුඩාකන් පඳුරු මැඬියා/Small eared Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus microtympanum)

An endemic shrub frog inhabiting both primary and secondary montane forests as well as the home gardens and tea plantations from 1500  to 2140 m elevations in the central hills. It is the dominant frog in and around the Horton Plains National Park. Also occurs in Pattipola, Ambewela, Agara pathana and Nuwaraeliya. It calls throughout the day and night though usually hides during the day time under logs, tree holes, root crevices, rocks, under leaf litter and such other micro habitats. Eggs are laid in humus or at the base of grass tussocks. Juveniles are usually found among grassy vegetation and such other disturbed habitats. 

Ceylon Treebrown (Lethe daretis)

A rather common endemic butterfly restricted to hill country forests above 1500 m a.s.l. It flies all the year round though much common from March to April. Its larva feeds probably on leaves of  a bamboo species (Sinarundinaria debilis) occurs at the higher elevations (Only egg laying observed so far) 

Singalese Hedge Blue (Udara singalensis)

An uncommon endemic butterfly flies in forested areas above 1500 m elevations. It is much common from February to May. Singalese Hedge Blue is usually found settling in stream beds or on wet roads. No information available on its early stages of the life cycle. 

කුණු මී කරවලා[Kunu Mee Karawala]/මල් රදනකයා[Mal Radanakaya]/Flowery Wolf Snake(Lycodon osmanhilli)

An endemic Non venomous snake occurs in all parts of the island up to about 2000 m a.s.l. Rather common in urban and sub urban areas. It is found under flower pots, piles of stones, loose soil, cracks and crevices of walls and parapets in houses, stacked bricks and piles of woods. Flowery Wolf Snake is a nocturnal terrestrial snake and it feeds on geckos, other snakes, rodents, insects, etc. It is very aggressive snake especially at night and savagely bite when handling. When cornered it hides its head underneath the coil of its body and sometimes empty its bowels with a smell similar to rotten dead mice. Hence its Sinhalese name කුණු මී කරවලා. It is an oviparous snake and lays 8 to 10 eggs at one time. Flowery Wolf Snakes often enter human habitations and are killed on sight as many believes it as a venomous snake. Some authors considered Lycodon osmanhilli as a color variety of Lycodon aulicus. 

Lowland Kangaroo Lizard/Earless Lizard/පිනුම් කටුස්සා/තැලි කටුස්සා[Pinum Katussa/Thali Katussa] (Otocryptis nigristigma)

An endemic lizard rather common in dry lowlands up to about 400 m elevations. It lives  among leaf litter of forest floor and sometimes even on tree trunks and rocks. Lowland Kangaroo Lizard inhabits both natural as well as the anthropogenic habitats, if adequate shade and leaf litter is available.

Painted-lip Lizard/Sri Lankan Bloodsucker/තොල විසිතුරු කටුස්සා[Thola visithuru Katussa] (Calotes ceylonensis)

An endemic lizard confine to the semi-evergreen monsoon forests, home gardens and plantations in the dry and intermediate zones up to about 400 elevations. Painted-lip Lizard is an arboreal agamid inhabiting tree trunks of large trees. It active during the day time and feeds on butterflies, day moths, bees and other insects.

Sri Lanka Wood Frog/ලංකා දිය මැඩියා[Lanka diya madiya] (Hydrophylax gracilis [Hylarana gracilis])

An endemic frog rather common in all three zones up to about 500 elevations. It lives close to water bodies and found on rocks and low vegetation in forests, marshy lands, paddy fields, tanks, ponds and even in home gardens.

සැළලිහිණියා [Salalihiniya]/Sri Lanka Hill Myna [Ceylon Grackle/Ceylon Hill Myna] (Gracula ptilogenys)

Rather uncommon endemic bird occurs locally in forests and near by well wooded home gardens, plantations, etc. from wet lowlands to the mid hills. It feeds on fruits, high in the canopy level of the forest, as pairs or as small groups. The breeding season lasts from February to May and probably again from August to September. The nest is a cavity in a tree hole.

දේවකගේ තැලි කටුස්සා [Devakage Theli Katussaa]/Devaka's Fan-throated Lizard (Sitana devakai)

Fan throated Lizard inhabiting dry coastal areas of  the North, Northwestern and Southeastern part of the country was formerly considered as a single species Sitana ponticeriana which is also recorded from the India. However with the recent taxonomic changes now it is considered that Sri Lanka is home to two distinct endemic species, one occurs in the Southeastern coastal areas (Sitana bahiri) and other in the Northern and Northwestern part of the island (Sitana devakai).

Devaka's Fan-throated Lizard is an endemic lizard confine to the dry coastal areas of the north and north western part of the island. However sometime it is recorded even 10-60 km from the nearest beach. It is active during the day time. Territorial behaviors of Sitana devakai are similar to its Southeastern congener Sitana bahiri.  

References:
Amarasinghe, A.A.T., Ineich I., Karunarathna D.M.S.S., Madhava W., Botejue S. & Campbell P.D., 2015 Two new species of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 (Reptilia: Agamidae) from Sri Lanka, including a taxonomic revision of the Indian Sitana species, Zootaxa 3915(1): 67-98

Lyrate Grappletail (Heliogomphus lyratus)

In June 1926 G,M, Henry collected a single male and female of this very rare and probably seasonal dragonfly from the Haldummulla. F.C. Fraser later on described it as a new Gomphidae species endemic to the Sri Lanka base on those specimens. For over 80 years till in May 2009 Matjaz Bedjanic's records of single male in Kitulgala and a female in Morawaka-Diyadawa road on the slopes of Diyadawa forest, that was the sole available information of this species.
  We could observe and photograph a Male and female on early April of 2015 at a small well shaded stream of Kukulugala proposed forest reserve in the Ratnapura district. Female was oviposting in a small water hole of the stream during our observation and male when disturbed rapidly flew directly upward up to certain height.

* Another single male observed end of May 2015 while settled on a leaf along the roadside from Athweltota to Rusigala in Kaluthara district, a rather disturbed and open habitat comparing to the all of above locations.

References:

de Fonseka, T. (2000). The dragonflies of Sri Lanka. Wildlife Heritage Trust: Colombo. 304 p. 

Fraser F.C. 1933 The Gomphines of Ceylon (Order Odonata), F.C. Fraser, Ceylon Journal of Science (B) Vol. XVIII, Pt 1 December 22, 1933 page 33 

Bedjanic, M., K. Conniff, N. van der Poorten & A. Salamun, 2014. Dragonfly fauna of Sri Lanka: Distribution and biology, with threat status of its endemics. Pensoft, Sofia. 321pp.

Streaked Kukri Snake/Dumerill's Kukri Snake/පුල්ලි දත් කැටියා [Pulli Datkatiya] (Oligodon sublineatus)

Streaked Kukri Snake is a small (26-31 cm in length) non-venomous and terrestrial snake endemic to the Sri Lanka. It is diurnal in habit and active mostly during the dusk. Streaked Kukri Snake is mainly distributed from wet lowlands to mid hills (Few earlier records also available from some localities of the dry lowlands), both in forested areas and the vicinity of human habitations.  It hides under decaying leaves, logs, stones and inside silted drains. It feeds mainly on reptile eggs, insects, spiders and small reptiles. When cornered it twist itself into a ball and sometime slightly expands fore body and flattens its head and makes it triangular, mimicking vipers.  

සිංහලෙන් කියවන්න >>

හිරිගඩු පඳුරු මැඩියා[Hirigadu paduru madiya]/Hollow-snouted Shrub Frog (Pseudophilautus cavirostris)

An endemic shrub frog occurs in the south western wet zone including Knuckles range from 30 to 1000 m elevations. It inhabits closed canopy rain forests and occasionally in some anthropogenic habitats. Found on moss-covered rocks, tree trunks and branches as well as inside crevices close to streams.

Decorated Ace (Thoressa decorata)

Rare endemic butterfly found in southwestern forest areas up to about 1200 m elevations. No data available on its larval host plants or early stages of the life cycle.