A Sri Lankan Scientist In Indonesia
A top Sri Lankan scientist had the unique honour last week with the stunning discoveries of five species worldwide in the process once again stamping Sri Lanka has one of the top biodiversity hotspots considering it size.
Dr. Thasun Amarasinghe who is a Senior research scientist attached to the Research Centre for Climate Change, University of Indonesia, the top ranked university in Indonesia, said that he is honoured in naming the new species to his mentors at his Alma Mater Royal College Colombo and some of the top scientists here with international repute. He and his research team rediscovered one of the world rarest lizard species, a horn lizard from Sumatran rain forests in Indonesia. It was the second individual of that lizard found after 129 since its first sighting.
He also discovered a new skink from Nicobar Island belongs to India, another rare species adding to the science. Then from world famous Bali Island, the heart of Indonesian tourism, he discovered a new gecko, another rare adding. It is an exciting finding from such a world famous island. He named that new species honouring his supervisor and world acclaimed scientist and a conservation warrior, Prof. Jatna Supriatna.
The other discovery is a new day-gecko from Sri Lanka, discovered from a forest near Gampaha. It is really interesting to find a forest gecko species near to the capital city of the country, Colombo. All other known species of forest geckos are living in dense forests far from the capital city, he said. Thasun with his co-worker Suranan Karunarathna, another renowned scientist in Sri Lanka, named that species honouring Thasun’s high school Biology Teacher Mrs. Mano Kalupahana, at the Royal College Colombo 07.
Kalupahana is a renowned Biology teacher, served more than three decades. She joined Royal Collage in 1990 and served until retired in 2010. During her entire service she produced few thousands of students who entered the medical faculty. Naming a new species discovered after his teacher is a way of expresses the sincere appreciations for her generous teaching. Her remarkable teaching and advice encouraged Thasun to study zoology, and marked the turning point in his becoming a taxonomist.
Thasun also not forgot to honour other advisers and mentors who advised him during his carrier. In 2014, he discovered a new lizard and named it honouring his mentor, Dr. Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, another world famous Herpetologist and a taxonomist, also an output of Royal College, Colombo. He named another mentor, Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, a world famous Ichthyologist and a taxonomist who was one of the advisors for his undergraduate research project.
Among his discoveries, another unique snake discovered from high elevations of Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, he named that species honouring his another mentor Late. Prof. Colin Groves, renowned as the father of Mammalian taxonomy. In addition among his discoveries there are many new forest geckos found from Sumatra Island, and even new pipe snakes from Singapore and Vietnam, and new frogs from India.
Thasun is a herpetologist researching on reptiles and amphibians since year 2004 and to date had published more than 100 research papers and proceedings He is researching on taxonomy -the science of classifying and naming animals, and do field work in South and Southeast Asian region. So far he had discovered more than 20 new species from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam. Serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Asian Biodiversity, renowned as “Taprobanica” which is published by the University of Indonesia. Also he is serving as an editor and reviewer for many scientific journals in the world.
He is also an expert and a resource person to compile national and global IUCN red lists of the threatened species, and assessing the conservation status of reptiles in Sri Lanka as well as Indonesia. Currently he is also doing number of collaborative researches with many European institutes such as British museum of Natural History in the United Kingdom and Paris Museum of Natural History in France. He studied in Dharmapala Vidyalaya Pannipitiya and Royal College Colombo 07. Also studied in many universities including the Open University of Sri Lanka, University of Colombo, Harvard University USA, and the University of Indonesia. A member of the Young Zoologists Association since 1998 and conducted awareness programs, public lectures, exhibitions for school children, government workers, doctors, and general public throughout the country since schooling age.
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