Five primate species,representing three genera and 12 subspecies,occur in Sri Lanka.We conducted an islandwide questionnaire survey of primate presence/absence,based on a 5x5 km grid with three questionnaires administered to residents in each cell.Respondents were queried on the presence of Slender Lorises,Toque Macaques,Sri Lankan Sacred Langurs and Purple-faced Langurs in their neighbourhood.Results indicated that Slender Lorises and Toque Macaques were distributed over 88% and 90% of Sri Lanka,respectively,including the wet and dry zones,but with patchy wet-zone distributions.Sri Lankan Sacred Langurs were present over 86% of the island but absent from large parts of the wet zone.Purple-faced Langurs were distributed over 53% of Sri Lanka with a disjunct distribution consisting of a patchy dry-zone presence and a more uniform wetzone distribution.The maps presented are the first based on a systematic island-wide survey.We discuss the implications of the observed distributions for primate taxonomy and conservation.
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