Lost giants Sri Lanka's extinct mammals Kelum Manamendra- ‘Arachehi takes a look at some of the large mam mals that once roamed the Sabaragam-uwa hills around the — great Sinharaja rain forest, now ‘known only from their fos- sil remains. ‘As much 8 we might dislike the idea of any of the animals that inkabit Sri Lanks today Decoming extinct, we have to face the fact that countless animals have come and gone throughout the ages of history—such isthe nature of evolution Yet litle was known of Sri Lanka’ prehistoric fauna wot in the carly pt ofthe 20th century, fossils cleanly not ientifiable the island's preset day fauna began turing wp in gem pis teing dg around Ratnapura. Inthe nomi course f thei: work gem miners woul! cheerfully discard the bits of toth and tone that they found, ba in the 19305 one young man began taking am eres in these finds: Paul EP. Deraniyagala. Deraniyazala was keenly aware ofthe work done in the fatter part of the 19th century and the frst decade of the 20th by the Swiss brothers Sarasin (he Sarasns had worked extensively in SriLanka eveavating Sione Age sites and cataloguing their a- tefat) He wan quick to recaps the importance ofthe animal ‘emains that were emerging and lost to time in building up an important collection. Ston, he would identify 8 new fauna of [nrgemamamas rom them:lins,hppepotamuses, rhinoceros, ours. He knew the gem pits of Rataapura dated not too far tack—they belonged to the Pleistocene age Which began 18 nilion yeas ago. the mos recent of the grat geological phases ofthe eat. The Rattapurafosilswetealfounino jus above the lama (gem-bearing gravel that ies buried under the lsh rain forest ‘vegetation of the Ssbragamawa Province. The iloma varies in thickoes rom aound 15-100 en and es dep ranging from 415m rome present-day surface. Some gem grave! beds how- ever, uch a those inthe valleys ofthe Rakwans area, are lo aed as deep as 35m blow the surface. Fosallsaton occas only in very rae and exceptional circum ‘ances, trough a variety of mechanisms. When animals dic, ‘heiehanesosally decay and cisappear inthe course of sever decades, However, very rately, the caress sinks into the deep, ‘oxyge8-poor stat the botom ofa lake. Here nthe absence of light and abrasion, particles of sit—usally calcium carbonate, ‘aloum phosphate and silica—gradully sep into the bone ia tsoticcs and ake on the shape ofthe bone, everually becoming, ‘tifed with me, desiccation and presure. Several other to, exis se figure ) Thus, the fossil: comained buried unde soils which over millenia aoe gradually, ove hundreds of millen w“The Pleisiocene era siw episodes of great climate change. Sti Lanka experienced climates that were at times dr rather Hike the present, and at times exceedingly wet, with heavy rainfall, During these periods of rainfall vast rivers flowed ever the an, their bottoms laden with gavel washed down from thesurtound- ing bill. Among these gravels are the sapphires, garnets and rubies that we valieso much today. Asthe climate changed aga, the gravel-rich river beds gradually silted up, the riveritsel van- ishing altogether during relatively dry episeds. Theve ancient fiver bed now le covered under seyeral stata of sil, humus, sand ann lay. Together with these were washed down ftom the hills, the fossils of ancient animals. Being heavier than the soit ‘of ite surtoundings, the fossils usually sink lower and lower through the strata until at last they reached and rested om the ‘gravel ofthe ancient river bed. Those deposited more recenthy fre yet to sink so far, nd are found in strata above the sravel ‘When digging for gems inthe Sabaragamuv ares today. min cersoiften come across these fossils ip largely from them that swe know ofthe animals that roamed this land tens of thousands fof yeats ago. Of the animals tat preceded them —of the dino saurs—there is no trace in the Sabsragamuwa bed, These are relatively new, being tens of thousands and not hundreds of mil- fions of years old (bear in mind that the dinosaurs became tinct 65 million years ago). “The large mammal of the Sabaragamuwa beds are a diverse assemblage of some 20 specics, evidently part of the extinct Shivalik fauna of India. In thisarticle I review a selection of the better-known large mammals thst have been identified from i Mesaprotedon palucndicas, he exit hippopotamas of Si Lanks ‘ight fossilised lower jaw; below: ari’ impression tnppopetarss Fragments of hippopotamus fossils occur quite comment i eae roughly ellipical 3212 km area bene Be easter oe teen ean ee eas cou teed Kappeststathe SL star hon Be inane ae ess Oa in ae eae iat empties paleo (iia ud sie a eis, Hexaprotadn namadics, Which ceed Saree ah place) Hinpaptaraces re dey ey sin Afca, The Si Lan Kippe difered makedy fom eb exon Afian species by Baving st ico ei a pester 5 nt Be ae es de teens rare a (Chatropasibcrens) Hower he rere Bee ie) eo ligemte Abseoipra, chick mci, % Titan Frecateus | avinas4: weight of around 4,000 kg). It ems that th disappeared from Sti Lanka relatively early in the Pleistocene despre being widely dscributed throughoet much of Asia, The ‘line are no unde*siood, But biotogiss think it pid climate change 10 which it ‘could be related 10a phase of vas unable to adapt (Consider that present-day S1i Lanka has. population of hinpopots cline (ook place durin attra habitats shat could ssppor fnvses) Its also relevant that their de the Stone Age: they may well have been hunted, Ancient elephants Tes species of ancient elepiants, now extn, are known fom, the Ratnapura fossil beds: Elephas hysudricus, Elephas hhamadicus (sometimes referred tothe genera Hypselephay and ‘Placoloxodon, respectively) and what might have been a pro enor of the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus sinhaleyis, ‘obich differed from today’s elephants by being smaller and haw ing slighiy diferent toot shapes. Flepias hsudricus Was, how ‘ver, cisinely diferent from even the Asian elephants of to tay, having a bony ‘ealval’ crest at the top ofits forehead (see figure). Flephas namadicus too, had such a crest, but at eye= brow level it probably was somewhat larger than living Asian Fossilisedtecth of extinct elegans. Top: Elephas hysudricas; above: Elephas narmadicus; lf: Elephes maximus sinkaleys. Antat’s impression of extinct elephant (after PEP. Deraniyasal) “Above: Elephasfysudricu; kf: Elephas namadicusclephants, which reach a shoulder height of around 11°, Elephas namadicus ws widely distrbated throughout Asia is fossils having being found a far afield ay 1 Al these species roamed Sri Lanka's rain forests during the early Pleistocene period, the great Fee Age Ther Two species of shinoceroses from the Ratnapara beds, both of which seem to have been around at the same time: Rhinoceros sinkaleyus and Rhinoc- eros kagavena. Both were one-hornedt ‘species, and are distinguished by differ- ences in their molar teeth. 1s thought now that Rhinoceros sinhalevus could well have been the same species ay Rh rox unicorns, which was formerly ace known ‘distributed throughout much of nda, ard probably Sri Lanka as well Interestingly unlike the Aftican shines which inhabit Asian species appearo hhave becn inhabitants of borh parklands and rin fore the swannah, Lions The existence of liors in Sri Lanka is known trou of 09 fossil the discovery in Ratnapura cihin the 1930 The teeth 3 49 Deraniyag ‘who immedi ately recognised them as belonging to a Inge-cat, By 1939 Detaniyagala wasable to diagnose definitively that these were the teeth of a lion, which he aamed Panthera eo sinbaleyus, Here a last was positive evidence not only that lions, the species after which the Sinhalese whe the name, hud ones roamed the forests of Sti anki, but also specifically that they ‘once inhabited the Sinharaja forest Since tat early record, lion bones and teeth have ‘been found at only one other location in Sti Lanka: the Batadombalena eave at Kurwita where several teeth and bones \nere excevated in 1983. These were later dated using carbon-14 methodology (see box) by archucologist Dr. Siran eraniyigala (Paul's son), and found to be about 13,000 years old ‘Although PE P. Deraniyagala gave the ‘extinct Sri Lankan lion a distinet identity, modern taxonomists believe that itwas in fact the same species —the Asiatie lion — that today survives only as single popu Iation of a few hundred individuals in the Gir Forest of Gujarat, India Ominously, the lion fragments found in the Batadombalena cave occur to with remains of food—the food consumed by the early inhabitants of Sti Lanka Balangoda Man, around! 30,000 years ago. In all probability, they were huated, ‘where fo meat, hide or teeth (is omi- ments), We cannot be sure wheter it way because Of hunting thatthe lin finally disappeared fe discount the possibilty It ig mot known when exactly Hons f nally disappeared from the island: wrt Jen history is silent on this subject. What m this wwe do know is that they must have su ved at least into the earl history ofthis and, for they appear so often inthe at of carly Sri Lanka Abore:Artists impression of Rhinoceros Taare pe of Se Lanka’ tint hin Below: Fossilised jaw of of Rhinoceros sinhalevus Radiocarbon dating ‘A taivatine tape of exon, Cis frsen al ving mate Unik rom ath, C1 decays ty castinuns die ‘tor andthe emshn of mint amounts ‘Strato, ta Heeger the fate nd decay fC sium baht ty decay oss. ri Are ht oh (Cl decays ata ate of 15.3 dese ‘niute per gram et. Wit Fowasey te rate of dingo 9 pouty 5730 yar acne» tethan %) Carbon with ada rte a7 tety beds rvs S573 garg ry ocho ma Ge ato 3855 dames pe dhe tel yas ing at evensmal sample's 208 1 ‘|