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Sri Lanka is an island close to the southern end ofIndia with a tropical environment. Theinvertebratefauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about two million species ofarthropods found in the world, and still it is counting with many new species still being discovered. It is very complicated and difficult to summarize the exact number of species found within a certain region.
The following list provide the isopods of Sri Lanka.
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Isopoda
Isopods also known as sowbugs, are crustaceans, that can be found throughout marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. There are well over 10,000 species of isopods described within 11 suborders. From these, about 4,500 species are marine, 500 species are freshwater and 5,000 are terrestrial forms. They are typically flattened dorsoventrally with two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen.
The studies on isopods of Sri Lanka clearly studied with the separation of aquatic isopods and terrestrial isopods.[1] Regarding freshwater isopods, the first taxonomic work was done by Fernando and Hanek in 1973. They recorded only two isopods from freshwater bodies in Sri Lanka.[2]
The two terrestrial families of isopods, Trachelipidae and Porcellionidae have been studied by Ferrara and Argano. According to them, three species of Trachelipidae and five of Porcellionidae are recorded from Sri Lanka.[3]
The following checklist on Sri Lankan isopods described 92 species within 53 genera.[4][5][6][7]