Wildlife of Sri Lanka
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Protected areas Protected areas of Sri Lanka National parks Biosphere reserves Sanctuaries
Flora and fauna Vertebrates Birds Endemics Mammals Endemics Amphibians Reptiles Freshwater fish Introduced fish Cartilage fish Commercial fish Invertebrates Butterflies Beetles Moths Dipterans Mosquitoes Hymenopterans Orthopterans Cockroaches Termites Earwigs Lacewings Phasmid Hemiptera Mantids Minor insects Bees Odonates Aphids Ants Freshwater crabs Non-marine molluscs Myriapods Spiders Tarantulas Scorpions Hard ticks Mites Isopods Pseudoscorpions Lesser arachnids Echinoderms Flora Trees Mangroves Pteridophytes
Gardens Zoological gardens Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage Dehiwala Zoo Pinnawala Open Zoo Ridiyagama Safari Park Botanical gardens Hakgala Henarathgoda Mirijjawila Peradeniya Seetawaka
Organizations Authorities Department of Forest Conservation Department of Wildlife Conservation Civil societies Field Ornithology Group
Related topics Deforestation Ecoregions Tourism
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Sri Lanka is an island close to the southern end of India with a tropical environment. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about two million species of arthropods 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.

Isopods

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]