The symbiosis between a host and its microbiome is essential for host fitness, and this association is a consequence of the host’s physiology and habitat. Sinocyclocheilus, the largest cavefish diversification of the world, an emerging multi-species model system for evolutionary novelty, provides an excellent opportunity for examining correlates of host evolutionary history, habitat, and gut-microbial community diversity. From the diversification-scale patterns of habitat occupation, major phylogenetic clades (A–D), geographic distribution, and knowledge from captive-maintained Sinocyclocheilus populations, we hypothesize habitat to be the major determinant of microbiome diversity, with phylogeny playing a lesser role. For this, we subject environmental water samples and fecal samples (representative of gut-microbiome) from 24 Sinocyclocheilus species, both from the wild and after being in captivity for 6 months, to bacterial 16S rRNA gene profiling using Illumina sequencing. We see significant differences in the gut microbiota structure of Sinocyclocheilus, reflective of the three habitat types; gut microbiomes too, were influenced by host-related factors. There is no significant association between the gut microbiomes and host phylogeny. However, there is some microbiome related structure at the clade level, with the most geographically distant clades (A and D) being the most distinct, and the two overlapping clades (B and C) showing similarities. Microbes inhabiting water were not a cause for significant differences in fish-gut microbiota, but water quality parameters were. Transferring from wild to captivity, the fish microbiomes changed significantly and became homogenized, signifying plastic changes and highlighting the importance of environmental factors (habitat) in microbiome community assembly. The core microbiome of this group, at higher taxonomic scale, resembled that of other teleost fishes. Our results suggest that divergent natural environments giving rise to evolutionary novelties underlying host adaptations, also includes the microbiome of these fishes.
​https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.823254/full?&utm_source=Email_to_authors_&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=T1_11.5e1_author&utm_campaign=Email_publication&field=&journalName=Frontiers_in_Microbiology&id=823254 

Citation: Sudasinghe H, Pethiyagoda R, Maduwage K, Meegaskumbura M (2019) The identity of the Sri LankanAmblypharyngodon (Teleostei, Cyprinidae). ZooKeys 820: 25–49. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.820.29632
Using an integrative taxonomic approach, using samples from throughout their geographic range, we show that there is only a single Amblypharyngodon species in Sri Lanka-  Amblypharyngodon grandisquamis Jordan & Starks, 1917. It is a species endemic to Sri Lanka, distributed across the lowlands of both of the island’s main climatic zones. It is distinguished from all other species of Amblypharyngodon, including the three species recorded from peninsular India (A. mola, A. microlepis, and A. melettinus), by a suite of characters that includes a body depth of 26.9–31.2% of the standard length (SL), 42–56 scales in the lateral series (of which usually 8–16 are pored), 20–24 circumpeduncular scales, 14–17 scale rows between the origins of the dorsal and pelvic fins, a dorsal-fin height of 21.1–27.6% SL, 18–19 caudal vertebrae and an eye diameter of 22.7–30.5% of the head length. Amblypharyngodon grandisquamis differs from A. melettinus and A. mola by uncorrected pairwise genetic distances of more than 9% and 6%, respectively, for the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene.

Three new students joined our lab group this semester: Mr. Gajaba Ellepola, a lecturer from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, who is pursuing his Ph.D. work, Miss Sun Dan,  a Ph.D. student from Ji Lin Province in China and Mr. Mao Ting Ru, a masters student from Nanning, China. 

We review and clear the taxonomy of the members of the genus Labeo of Sri Lanka. We used an integrative taxonomic analysis using morphology, morphometry, DNA and ecology. We see that the three Labeos of Sri Lanka do not form a monophyletic clade. This is indicative of multiple dispersal events from India to Sri Lanka. We describe and rename the species that was previously recognized as Labeo dussumieri of Sri Lanka as a new species. The newly described species is Labeo heladiva - heladiva is an ancient name for Sri Lanka. At lease two of the three Labeo species of the island need immediate conservation intervention. The work was inspired and supported by Rohan Pethiyagoda and led by Hiranya Sudasinghe. Full Text is available on Research Gate.

About seven years ago, when we were beginning to take a closer look at the vocalizations of frogs, from within the dark forested streams of the highest peaks of the Knuckles mountains, we came across a booming call that we had never hear before. We thought that it was a new species. One of my friends also brought this species to the notice soon afterwards. So we got together and started documenting the distribution, morphology, genetic characteristics and the bone structures of the Lankanectes populations across Sri Lanka. In almost all aspects we considered, the population that we heard was different from the rest of the Lankanectes of the island. So we described it as a new species - Lankanectes pera. We named the frog after the University of Peradeniya, the premier research and teaching university in Sri Lanka, which was celebrating her 75th anniversary last year. The alumni of this great university refer to her affectionately as "Pera". The frog is highly specialized for life in clear, cold, forest covered streams of the mountains, and together with a very sparse distribution, the future of the frog is uncertain. Hence we highlighted this frog to be critically endangered. We hope that identifying this frog will help direct conservation attention to both the habitat of this frog and the frog itself. The authors of the paper are Gayani Senevirathne, Pradeep Samarawickrama, Nayana Wijayathilaka, Kelum Manamendra-Arachchi, D. Samarawickrama and myself. The work was done at Pera. By Madhava Meegaskumbura