Paleontology and Fossils in Sri Lanka: Project Paleo Environment Reconstruction
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ ෆොසිල සංරක්ෂණ හා නැවත ගොඩනැගීමේ වැඩසටහන | 2026
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ පවතින ෆොසිල සම්පත් සංරක්ෂණ හා නැවත ගොඩනැගීමේ වැඩසටහන [ Paleontology and Fossils in Sri Lanka: Project Paleo Environment Reconstruction] ජෛව තාරකා විද්යා ආයතනයේ [ Eco Astronomy Inc] පර්යේෂකයන්ගේ මූලිකත්වයෙන් හා නවසීලන්තයේ Auckland University of Technology හි පර්යේෂකයන්ගේ දායකත්වය හරහා 2022 සිට ක්රියාත්මක වන ව්යාපෘතියක් වේ. මෙහි පලමු අධියරයේදී [ 2022] ශ්රී ලංකාවේ සබරගමුව ආශ්රිතව , චාතුර්ථක අවධිය නියෝජනය වන ෆොසිල සාම්පල රැසක් සංරක්ෂණයට ලක්වූ අතර Wild Lanka Journal of The Department of Wildlife Conservation හරහා ප්රකාශ්රිත කෘතිය FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN ලෙස ඔබට බාගත කරගත හැකිය. Download Now. එම දත්ත පරිශ්රීලනය කිරීම හරහා ශ්රී ලංකාවේ චාතුර්ථක අවධිය නියෝජනය කරන ෆොසිල පහසුවෙන් හදුනාගැනීම සාමාන්ය ජනතාවට හැකියාව ඇත. එම ව්යාපෘතියේම තවත් අධියක් වන ලෙස එම හදුනාගත් ෆොසිල ත්රිමාණ ආකාරයේ ගොඩනැගීම හා පුරාණ පරිසරය සකස් කිරීම සිදුවිය. එම පර්යේෂණ පත්රිකාව Toward an interdisciplinary 3D animation design process for palaeoart: Visualising Quaternary megafauna from Sri Lanka’s Sabaragamuwa Basin ලෙස Palaeontologia Electronica පර්යේෂණ සඟරාවේ ප්රකාශයට පත්කර ඇත ©May 2026 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Download Now
ශ්රී ලංකාවේ භූ විද්යාත්මක ඉතිහාසය වසර මිලියන 4000ක් තරම් ඈත අතීතයකට (ආකීන් යුගය) දිවයයි. වසර මිලියන ගණනකට පමණ පෙර සිදුවූ ගිනිකඳු සහ පාෂාණ ක්රියාවලීන් නිසා ලංකාවේ භූමිය සකස් වීමට පටන් ගත්තේය. මුලින් අස්ථාවරව තිබූ මෙම භූමිය පසුව ස්ථාවර තත්ත්වයට පත් විය. ශ්රී ලංකාව භූ විද්යාත්ම කොටස් කිහිපයකට බෙදා වෙන්කර ඇත. එම කොටස් නම්: 1. උස්බිම් සංකීරණය , 2. වන්නිසංකීරණය, 3. විජයන් සංකීර්ණය, 4. කඩුගන්නාව සංකීර්ණය, හා 5. මයෝසීන තැම්පතුවේ. ශ්රී ලංකාවේ පතුල් පාෂාණ වලට ඉහළින් වූ අවසාදිත පාෂාණ දත්ත සහ සාගරකබොල උච්චාවචන දත්ත භූ විද්යාත්මකවගවේෂණය කිරීමේ දී ශ්රී ලංකාවආශ්රිතව ජුරාසික (Jurassic-201Mya-145 Mya | ශාක ෆොසිල පමණක් හමුවේ ), මයෝසීන (Miocene-23.05 Mya-5.3 Mya | Fossils of marine organism) ප්ලයිස්ටොසීන (Pleistocene-2.58 Mya – 0.012 Mya | Fossils of mega fauna and plants) භූ වකවානුවලට අයත් ජෛවීය සාධක රැසක් ෆොසිල වශයෙන් හමුවෙයි.
The Sri Lankan Fossil Conservation Program, titled “Paleontology and Fossils in Sri Lanka: Project Paleo Environment Reconstruction,” is a collaborative initiative led by researchers from Eco Astronomy Inc and the Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand, which has been active for the past four years. The project’s first phase focused on the Sabaragamuwa region, resulting in the conservation of numerous Quaternary Period fossils and the publication of the monograph “FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN“ through the Wild Lanka Journal Download Now. As another phase of the same project, the reconstruction of the identified fossils into 3D forms and the restoration of the ancient environment took place. The resulting research paper, titled “Toward an interdisciplinary 3D animation design process for palaeoart: Visualising Quaternary megafauna from Sri Lanka’s Sabaragamuwa Basin,” has been published in the research journal Palaeontologia Electronica. ©May 2026 Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. Download Now.
Sri Lanka’s geological history stretches back nearly 4,000 million years to the Archean Eon. The island’s landmass began to take shape through intense volcanic activity and rock formation processes millions of years ago, transitioning from an initially unstable state into a stable geological entity. Structurally, the island is divided into several distinct geological units: the Highland Complex, the Wanni Complex, the Vijayan Complex, the Kadugannawa Complex, and Miocene deposits.
Geological exploration of the sedimentary layers and oceanic crust fluctuations overlying Sri Lanka’s basement rocks has revealed a rich fossil record. These biological markers correspond to three major periods: The Jurassic Period (201–145 Mya), characterized primarily by plant fossils. The Miocene period (23.05–5.3 Mya), which contains remains of marine organisms. The Quaternary period (2.58 Mya to present), yielding fossils of both megafauna and ancient plant life.
Team Members & Information | Aravinda Ravibhanu Sumanarathna
Aravinda Ravibhanu Sumanarathna is a prominent Sri Lankan research scientist whose work spans the interdisciplinary fields of astrobiology, paleontology, and archaeoastronomy. As the Chief Executive Officer of Eco Astronomy Inc [ A leading multidisciplinary research institute in Sri Lanka] he has led the conservation of more than 500 Sri Lankan fossil samples. Beyond his work as a pioneering research scientist in the reconstruction and conservation of Sri Lankan fossils, he is a prolific author with over 50 publications to his name. He serves as an ambassador for both the Mars Society USA and Beijing Forestry University and holds leadership roles in global initiatives such as Space Hero and SpaceVrse. His most notable scientific achievement is the creation of an artificial Mars regolith—a high-fidelity soil simulant engineered from NASA Curiosity Rover petrological data.
Team Members & Information | Jason Kennedy
Dr. Jason Kennedy is a senior lecturer above the bar within the Department of Animation, Visual Effects & Game Design at Auckland University of Technology. He is a professional animator and actor, and uses his combined experience to investigate the nature of performance within the contexts of animation, dramaturgy, virtual production, and palaeoart. Jason is a collaborative researcher at the Eco Astronomy Inc. research institute in Sri Lanka. He completed his practice-led PhD from AUT in 2021, and his interdisciplinary research has been published in a range of international journals. Jason is a He lives in Auckland, New Zealand with his wife Devanshi and their two cats, Stygi and Moloch.
Team Members & Information | Majda Aouititen
Eng. Majda Aouititen is a distinguished scientist, educator, and academic leader specializing in biodiversity management and nature conservation. Currently a Ph.D. researcher in Marine Science, she serves as the academic counselor for the Eco Astronomy Inc where she has pioneered innovative online education and hosted over 150 scientific podcasts since 2018. Her global influence is underscored by her roles as an International Students Advisor and Ambassador at Beijing Forestry University and her active membership in three pivotal IUCN commissions (CEC, CEM, and CCC). With over 11 years of experience, Eng. Aouititen has delivered lectures and moderated high-level debates across Asia, Europe, and North America. A recipient of numerous accolades, including the President Scholarship and Future Leader award, she seamlessly bridges the gap between academic research and community development. Her work continues to drive global environmental literacy and scientific diplomacy, empowering the next generation of leaders in sustainability and conservation.
Team Members & Information | Kamal Abeywardhana
Kamal Abeywardhana is a dedicated fossil collector, researcher, and paleo-explorer. He serves as a member of Eco Astronomy Inc. and holds the position of Assistant Secretary-General at the United Nations Association of Sri Lanka.
REFERENCES
1.Sumanarathna, A. R. (2021). FOSSILS OF SRI LANKA: CHAPTER SABARAGAMUWA BASIN [E-book]. In K. Abyawardhana, J. Katupotha, & M. Aouititen (Eds.), Journal of Wild Lanka (02 ed., Vol. 09, pp. 173–300). Department of Wildlife Conservation Sri Lanka. Retrieved June 10, 2021
2.Kennedy, Jason and Sumanarathna, Aravinda Ravibhanu. 2026. Toward an interdisciplinary 3D animation design process for palaeoart: Visualising Quaternary megafauna from Sri Lanka’s Sabaragamuwa Basin. Palaeontologia Electronica, 29(2):a18. | DOI : https://doi.org/10.26879/1616
3.Sumanarathna, A. R., Jinadasa Katupotha, Kamal Abyewardhana, & Buddhika Madurapperuma. (2017b). Extinction of quaternary mammalian habitats of megafauna in Sabaragamuwa Basin, Sri Lanka. Journal of Eco Astronomy, 01(01), 16–31. https://ecoastronomy.edu.lk/journal-of-eco-astronomy/vol01-isuue-01-pp-16-31-2017/ | DOI: 63119/JEA02.2017
4.Sumanarathna, A. R. (2018b). Geology of Sri Lanka: A Journey Through Ancient Landscapes and Unique Geological Features. Journal of Eco Astronomy, 01(01), EA 2018-05 | https://ecoastronomy.edu.lk/journal-of-eco-astronomy/vol01-isuue-01-pp-60-89-2018/ | DOI: 63119/JEA05.2018
5.Sumanarathna, A., Madurapperuma, B., Kuruppuarachchi, J., et al. (2016). Morphological Variation and Speciation of Acavidae Family: A Case Study from Fossil and Living Species of Batadombalena Cave Pre-Historic Site in Sri Lanka. Annals of Valahi University of Targoviste, Geographical Series, 16(2), pp. 59-68. Retrieved 7 Nov. 2016, from doi:10.1515/avutgs-2016-0005