COVER N. 438 - SRI LANKA

Postmark: Headquarters P. O. Colombo Mail 09.03.2024 

Posted on the 9th March; received ....

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Another of Ravindra's amazing covers, always laden with beautiful stamps. Bohomȧ  sthoothi, Ravindra!

This time, the cover is embellished with the remaining stamps of the  20 stamp sheet issued on 03MAR2020, highlighting species endangered by illegal trade, of which he had already kindly sent me half the set, on cover #335.

Stamps, left to right;  top to botom:_

Red Pencil Urchin (Heterocentrotus mammillatus)

A sea urchin from the Indo-Pacific region, with tubular spikes, rounded to triangular in cross section and up to 10 cm long, which are often collected as souvenirs...

Giant Snakehead (Channa ara)

A freshwater species of the Channidae family, occuring in Sri Lanka  primarily in deep pools in the Mahaweli River and its tributaries. 

Acavus haemastoma

Endemic to Sri lanka, this land snail of the Acavidae family has a stripped shell wich can reach 38–46 mm in diameter.

Henckelia moonii

A perennial, of the Gesneriaceae family, original from central Sri Lanka which produces oversized flowers in comparison to the size of the plant itself.

Dumbara Agama (Cophotis dumbara)

A critically endangered iguanian lizard endemic to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Ornamental Tarantula (Poecilotheria fasciata)

A member of the Theraphosidae (tarantulas) family, endemic to central Sri Lanka, whose females can grow up to 6 - 7 cm. The species is under pressure due to loos of habitat, pesticides and illegal trade.

Gunasekara's Shieldtail (Rhinophis gunasekarai)

A  non-venomous shield-tail snake, endemic to central Sri Lanka

Loxococcus rupicola

A critically endangered palm tree, due to habitat loss, which is the only species of  its genus, and endemic to Sri Lanka.

Common Thresher (Alopias vulpinus)

A shark with a worldwide distribution, but with "vulnerable" conservation status, so much so that it is a species which we share with Sri Lanka. 😀

Yellow Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)

Another creature of "Vulnerable" IUCN conservation status. This rather large sea horse, which can grow up to 30 cm long - has a rather comprehensivce distribution: "Persian Gulf to Southeast Asia, Australia, Japan, and several Pacific islands including Hawaii, and is also found the eastern coast of Africa from Tanzania to South Africa, including the Indo-Pacific region ranging from the northwest Indian Ocean to the central areas of the Pacific Ocean. The majority of H. kuda populates the Chinese coast down to Australia" (in wikipedia)

As usual with Ravindra's mail, the postmark hails from the central Post Office at Columbus, Sri Lanka's economic capital.