Vandeleuria nolthenii Phillips 1929

Vandeleuria nolthenii Phillips 1929, Ceylon J. Sci., Sec. B, 15: 165.

Type Locality: Sri Lanka, Uva, Ohiya, West Haputale, 6000 ft (1830 m).

Vernacular Names: Sri Lankan Vandeleuria.

Distribution: Forested highlands (above 1158 m) of Central and Uva provinces of Sri Lanka.

Conservation: IUCN – Vulnerable.

Discussion: Described as a subspecies of V. nilagirica, kept that way by Ellerman (1941), but usually considered a subspecies of V. oleracea (Agrawal and Chakraborty, 1980; Ellerman, 1961; Phillips, 1980). Howver, nolthenii is distinct in its montane distribution, pelage (longer, dark reddish brown upperparts, gray venter), and external and cranial traits (longer tail, larger skull with more inflated braincase, larger bullae, and longer and heavier rostrum) from V. oleracea occurring at lower elevations, and should be treated as a separate species (Musser, 1979), an arrangement endorsed by Corbet and Hill (1992). Phillips’ (1929) original description and subsequent review (Phillips, 1980) encapsule all that is known about the species.