An Assessment of the Status of Biodiversity in the Muthurajawela ...

4. Fauna of Muthurajawela
Species composition and relative abundance of vertebrate fauna
A total of 209 species of vertebrate fauna, belonging to 96 families were recorded from
Muthurajawela. Of the total number of species recorded, 17 (9 %) are endemic, while 26 (12
%) are nationally threatened (IUCN Sri Lanka, 2000). Among the endemic vertebrate species
at Muthurajawela, 60% are nationally threatened. A comparison of inland native vertebrate
fauna of Sri Lanka and in the Muthurajawela wetland sanctuary is shown in Figure 4. The
native vertebrate fauna of Muthurajawela represents 30% of Sri Lanka’s native inland
vertebrate species. This is a significant proportion, when considering the size of this wetland.
Of the total vertebrate species recorded, a majority (35%) were uncommon, while 13% were
very common, and 5% were very rare.
Sri Lanka
Muthurajawela
226
155
78
83
90
54
35
14
31
22
Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Mammals
Group
Figure 4
Comparison of inland native vertebrate species of Sri Lanka with those in the Muthurajawela wetland.
The fish consisted of 40 species (5 endemics) belonging to 23 families (Appendix 4),
representing approximately 45% of Sri Lanka’s native inland fishes. Among them, 5 species
are nationally threatened, while 4 are exotic. These were distributed in lentic (ie., ponds,
marshes) and lotic (ie., canals, streams, rivers) habitats, as well as the transition area of the
marsh-lagoon complex, which is subjected to daily tidal influence. The Tilapia (Sarotherodon
mossambicus), Pearl Spot (Etroplus suratensis) and the Dwarf Panchax (Aplocheilus parvus)
were very common species of fish at Muthurajawela. The fish also included freshwater and
marine migratory species, which were mainly observed in the Dandugam Oya and the marshlagoon
transition zone. For instance, the “catadromous” species (Species that migrate from
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