The current occurrence, habitat and historical change in the distribution range of an endemic tiger beetle species Cicindela (Ifasina) willeyi Horn (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Sri Lanka

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Published: Feb 26, 2011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2501.1493-505

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C. Dangalle
N. Pallewatta
A. Vogler

Abstract

The current occurrence, habitat and historical change in distributional range are studied for an endemic tiger beetle species, Cicindela (Ifasina) willeyi Horn of Sri Lanka. At present, the species is only recorded from Maha Oya (Dehi Owita) and Handapangoda, and is absent from the locations where it previously occurred. The current habitat of the species is explained using abiotic environmental factors of the climate and soil recorded using standard methods. Morphology of the species is described by studying specimens using identification keys for the genus and comparing with specimens available at the National Museum of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The DNA barcode of the species is elucidated using the mitochondrial CO1 gene sequence of eight specimens of Cicindela (Ifasina) willeyi. The study suggests that Maha Oya (Dehi Owita) and Handapangoda are suitable habitats. However, its presence in only two locations and its absence from locations where it previously occurred highlights the need for conserving the natural habitats at Maha Oya (Dehi Owita) and Handapangoda, and the necessity of further studies of this kind.

Article Details

Issue
Vol 3, No 2 (2011)
Section
Communications

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Author Biographies

C. Dangalle

Dr. Chandima Dangalle is a senior lecturer in Zoology. Her expertise lies in the fields of entomology and molecular biology. Her research focuses on collecting baseline data on the distribution and habitat preferences of tiger beetles in Sri Lanka and in evolution and phylogeny of the species. Dr. Dangalle conducted her PhD in the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.

N. Pallewatta

Dr. Nirmalie Pallewatta is a senior lecturer and the current head of the Department of Zoology, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. A zoologist by training Dr. Pallewatta received her Ph.D. in 1986 from the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine at the University of London, U.K.

A. Vogler

Dr. Alfried Vogler works on the molecular systematics of Coleoptera. He has a joint position at the Natural History Museum and at Imperial College, London, U.K. Together with PhD students and postdocs, he is currently studying basal relationships of Scarabaeinae and Aphodiinae. He is also interested in the factors determining the composition of dung beetle communities and the effect of species interactions on the evolution of ecomorphological diversity.