Hiranya Sudasinghe received his early education at lsipathana College, Colombo, and has been a member of the Young Zoologists’ Association of Sri Lanka. Following his passion, he forwent medical school to enroll instead for a bachelor’s degree in zoology at the University of Peradeniya, from which he graduated with first class honours. He completed his Master’s degree at the same university and is presently reading for his PhD at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern and Naturhistorisches Museum Bern, Switzerland. His doctoral project is on understanding the genomic consequences of miniaturization in the zebrafish relatives. He has lead-authored some two dozen scientific papers, principally on the phylogenetics and taxonomy of Sri Lankan freshwater fishes.

This volume is intended to serve as a sourcebook for scientists, students and enthusiasts of Sri Lanka’s spectacular biodiversity, highlighting not just what is known but also the many gaps in our knowledge that beckon as objects of future inquiry. A clear understanding of how, when and from where the ancestors of the plants and animals that now inhabit the island came – whether from Jurassic Gondwana or Pleistocene lndia – is perhaps the first and most important step also in deciding future conservation priorities. The Ecology and Biogeography of Sri Lanka: A Context for Freshwater Fishes provides an indispensable foundation for understanding and appreciating Sri Lanka’s unique biodiversity in its historical and evolutionary context.