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For years, a distinctive three-banded wolf snake found across parts of Sri Lanka was regarded as simply another form of the widely distributed Lycodon aulicus. Now, a detailed investigation combining traditional taxonomy, morphology and DNA evidence has revealed that the snake has been hiding a different identity all along.
The Sri Lankan lineage has been formally described as a new species—Lycodon trifasciatus Amarasinghe, Aththanagoda, Ranasinghe, Vogel & Karunarathna, sp. nov.—giving science a new name for what the researchers call the Three-banded Wolf Snake.
Led by Dr. Thasun Amarasinghe, the study demonstrates how modern molecular tools can expose biodiversity that remained obscured by decades of taxonomic confusion.
The researchers say the finding is particularly significant because superficially similar wolf snakes can represent separate evolutionary lineages, while inadequate geographical sampling can make species boundaries difficult to establish.
“Our integrative evidence supports recognition of the tri-banded Sri Lankan wolf snake lineage as a distinct species,” the research team states.
The name trifasciatus refers to the snake’s three prominent dorsal crossbands. It is also known locally as the Thumudu or Thrimudu Radanakaya
A new species hiding in plain sight
What makes the discovery fascinating is that this is not a snake newly encountered in some remote corner of the island.
Lycodon trifasciatus occurs in Sri Lanka’s lowland wet and intermediate zones and has been recorded up to about 750 metres. It can even live close to human habitation, sheltering during the day in dark and cool places such as piles of rubbish, roofing tiles, woodpiles and stacks of bricks.
The snake is relatively small, with females generally larger than males. It is mainly active around twilight and the beginning of darkness and feeds on geckos, skinks, frogs and flying termites.
It is fully terrestrial, with the researchers noting that they did not observe it climbing trees.
The species also has an intriguing association with human-modified environments. Females have been recorded laying eggs in cement wall foundations of bathing wells and beneath woodpiles. Five to seven eggs may be laid at a time, with hatching taking approximately 32 to 39 days.
Hatchlings of the new species emerging from eggs
The snake occurs alongside L. aulicus in parts of the lower southwestern region and the Kandyan Hills, although the researchers did not observe the two using the same microhabitats.
The breakthrough came from looking beyond appearance.
The researchers examined 115 preserved specimens from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand, combining museum material, field-collected specimens and available genetic sequences. Four Sri Lankan specimens were collected for the study, with tissue samples taken for genetic analysis and the specimens deposited at the National Museum of Sri Lanka.
The molecular evidence proved particularly compelling.
Analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome-b sequences showed genetic divergence of approximately 8.3–9.2 percent between three specimens representing the Sri Lankan L. cf. aulicus lineage and a Sri Lankan L. aulicus sequence.
But the scientists did not rely on DNA alone.
Skull and Maxillary Teeth of the new species
The new species also possesses a distinctive combination of physical characteristics.
Among them are a poorly defined collar band in adults, only three principal body crossbands, the absence of a white lip band, an elongate to subrectangular head, a truncate snout and differences in scale counts and dentition.
In 14 of 20 observed individuals, three distinct bands were clearly visible. Some snakes displayed additional, less prominent bands when young, but these tended to disappear or become indistinct as the animals grew.
According to Amarasinghe and his colleagues, the discovery also exposes the difficulties created by historical taxonomic classifications.
The name Lycodon aulicus has been applied broadly over the years to populations that may not all represent the same evolutionary lineage.
Earlier descriptions and subsequent synonymisation resulted in considerable confusion over what actually constituted L. aulicus.
The researchers therefore re-examined type material and voucher specimens from India and Sri Lanka, redefining L. aulicus and restricting its type locality to the ancient Malabar Coast in western Kerala.
Their work indicates that the L. aulicus group currently comprises 11 distinct lineages or taxa distributed across three major Asian biogeographical regions.
That, however, does not mean the taxonomic puzzle is completely solved.
The scientists caution that the broader geographical distribution, monophyly and evolutionary relationships of L. aulicus remain provisional because genetic sampling is still sparse and uneven.
One publicly available mitochondrial sequence attributed to mainland India is also inconsistent with L. aulicus and may itself represent a misidentified specimen.
For Amarasinghe, the significance of such discoveries extends beyond scientific nomenclature.
In a separate discussion on the conservation of Sri Lanka’s threatened endemic species, he emphasised the urgency of protecting species whose populations are disappearing before they are properly understood.
Distribution of the New Species and Other Related Species
“Endemic species cannot ask for protection. We are the voice for the voiceless,” Amarasinghe said.
That observation provides a wider context for the wolf snake discovery. Species recognition is not merely an academic exercise. Knowing what species exist, where they occur and how they differ is fundamental to understanding and ultimately conserving the island’s biodiversity.
Phylogenetic Relationship Among the New Species and Other Related Species
The researchers themselves call for targeted surveys and properly documented genetic sampling from Kerala and southern peninsular India, as well as wider geographical coverage and multilocus or genomic studies to resolve the remaining questions surrounding the L. aulicus complex.
The discovery of Lycodon trifasciatus is therefore another reminder that Sri Lanka’s biodiversity inventory remains unfinished.
A snake that had long been placed under a familiar scientific name has now emerged as a distinct evolutionary lineage because researchers looked more closely—at its scales, body proportions, head shape, teeth, geography and, ultimately, its DNA.
For Amarasinghe and his colleagues, the three-banded wolf snake is more than another entry in a taxonomic checklist. It is evidence that Sri Lanka’s forests, villages and landscapes can still harbour biological stories that science has yet to fully uncover.
And sometimes, the discovery of a new species does not require finding an animal that has never been seen before.
It requires recognising that the animal people have been seeing for generations may not have been what science once thought it was.
CONTINUOUS BRICS NO-SHOW: WHAT’S SRI LANKA SIGNALLING THE WORLD?
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The Communist Party of Sri Lanka has warned that ‘Israel and other foreign powers are planning to establish “spaceports” on Sri Lanka’s East Coast’ and claimed ‘the NPP government is getting involved in US space domain activities’ ( The Island , October 29, 2026).
Whether these warnings warrant serious consideration or not, certain immutable facts relating to Sri Lanka’s policy of a neutral state cannot be ignored. One such fact that has guided this government is its foreign policy of neutrality requires ‘that neutral space comprises the national territory of the neutral state, its territorial waters and its national air space’, and as such its territory including its territorial waters and air space is NOT NEGOTIABLE. This policy has been adhered to during the ongoing Middle East conflict, where the US sought permission to land two aircraft and the government declined permission on grounds of neutrality.
In such a context, for any officers, military or civil, to participate in discussions that compromise principles of neutrality amounts to a violation of government’s policy of neutrality reiterated by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath. Therefore, any discussions relating to prospective ‘spaceports’ is taboo.
PRINCIPLES and DUTIES of a NEUTRAL STATE
Based on an ICRC Publication on Neutrality, June 2022.
The introduction of this publication states: ‘The sources of the international law of neutrality are customary international law and, for certain questions, international treaties, in particular the Paris Declaration of 1856, the 1907 Hague Convention No. V respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land, the 1907 Hague Convention No. XIII concerning the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers in Naval War, the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I of 1977.’
‘The territory of a neutral state is inviolable. It is prohibited to commit any act of hostility whatsoever on such territory. Neutrality describes the formal position taken by a state which is not participating in an armed conflict or which does not want to become involved. This status entails specific rights and duties. On the one hand, the neutral State has the right to stand apart from and not be adversely affected by the conflict. On the other hand, it has a duty of non-participation and impartiality.
Neutral space comprises the national territory of the neutral state, its territorial waters and its national air space. Neutral persons are nationals of neutral states. They lose their neutral status if they commit hostile acts against a belligerent. Individuals may join the armed forces of a belligerent party, but then they also lose their neutral status. They still have all the guarantees of protection that a member of those forces would enjoy, and therefore are entitled to POW status if they are subsequently captured. If, however, they can be defined as mercenaries, whom we covered in an earlier lesson, they do not have the right to be considered as combatants or POWs.
As long as their home state maintains normal diplomatic relations with the belligerent state they are living in or visiting, neutral persons are to be treated in the same way as they would be in peacetime. They remain under diplomatic protection. If there are no such diplomatic relations, neutral persons are entitled to be treated as protected persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. It makes no difference to their status if they are civilians or members of the armed forces of the neutral State to which they belong.’
3. THE DUTIES OF NEUTRAL STATES (Ibid)
‘Policy and instructions – the neutral State must also take measures to ensure and enforce the protection of its neutrality in the neutral space for which it is responsible in relation to the belligerent parties and, in particular, their armed forces. To obtain neutral status, the State does not have to make a formal declaration, nor do other States or parties formally have to recognise such status. A formal declaration will only have the effect of making neutral status better known.
The armed forces of the neutral state also require clear instructions on how they are to operate in relation to the defence of their territory and in dealing with incursions. For isolated and accidental violations of neutral space, the instructions might include the need to issue warnings or give a demonstration of force. For increasingly numerous and serious violations, a general warning might be called for and the use of force stepped up.
Particular obligations – the neutral State must ensure respect for its neutrality, if necessary, using force to repel any violation of its territory. Violations include failure to respect the prohibitions placed on belligerent parties with regard to certain activities in neutral territory, described above. The fact that a neutral State uses force to repel attempts to violate its neutrality cannot be regarded as a hostile act. If the neutral state defends its neutrality, it must however respect the limits which international law imposes on the use of force. The neutral state must treat the opposing belligerent states impartially.
This obligation does not mean that a state is bound to treat the belligerents in exactly the same way. It entails a prohibition on discrimination.
It forbids only differential treatment of the belligerents which in view of the specific problem of armed conflict is not justified. Therefore, a neutral state is not obliged to eliminate differences in commercial relations between itself and each of the parties to the conflict at the time of the outbreak of the armed conflict. It is entitled to continue existing commercial relations. A change in these commercial relationships could, however, constitute taking sides inconsistent with the status of neutrality.
A neutral state must never assist a party to the armed conflict, in particular it must not supply warships, ammunition or other war materials directly or indirectly to a belligerent power, but otherwise its trade with the belligerent States remains unaffected.’
The material presented above embodies internationally recognised practices that should be adopted by a neutral state.
Stated above are the PRINCIPLES and DUTIES of a NEUTRAL STATE as recognised under International Law. Therefore, it is the duty of all states to recognise and respect the rights of States, such as Sri Lanka that have declared neutrality as its policy in its relations with other States.
If members of the current Sri Lankan government are engaged in discussions with foreign governments relating to issues that compromise its policy of neutrality, they should cease forthwith for reasons stated above. Furthermore, the government needs to formally make its members, particularly those in the military who engage with foreign government representatives to develop relationships and further their agendas, aware of the stakes involved.
Continue Reading Features America votes for change: What 2026 midterms mean for Trump and the world Published
by Colonel Nalin Herath (Retd), RSP
The 2026 United States midterm elections have delivered a significant political message. By taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Democrats have changed the political balance in Washington and introduced a new dimension to President Donald Trump’s second term. This is more than an electoral setback for the Republican Party. It is a reminder that even a president with considerable political influence is ultimately answerable to the electorate. The results reflect growing public dissatisfaction with the direction of the country. Economic pressures, the cost of living, concerns over government accountability and the consequences of the conflict with Iran featured prominently in the political debate. Voters who supported Trump’s return to the White House in 2024 have now demonstrated that electoral support is neither permanent nor unconditional.
Midterm elections are traditionally viewed as a referendum on the sitting president. This election has reinforced that political reality. Pres Trump made himself central to the Republican campaign, effectively inviting voters to assess his leadership. The outcome suggests that a substantial section of the electorate wanted a different direction. The Democratic victory, however, should not be interpreted as an unconditional endorsement of every Democratic policy. It is equally a reflection of dissatisfaction with the incumbent administration. American voters have expressed their preference through the constitutional process, and the political establishment must respond accordingly.
A new balance of power in Washington
The Democratic takeover of both chambers of Congress will fundamentally change the legislative environment. The House can exercise greater oversight through investigations, hearings and control of legislative proceedings. The Senate can influence legislation, scrutinise presidential appointments and determine the progress of important national initiatives. Trump remains President, with his constitutional executive powers intact. However, the next two years are likely to require considerably more negotiation and political compromise. The possibility of legislative deadlock is also real. A divided government can strengthen institutional checks and balances, but it can also delay decisions on taxation, immigration, public spending and national security. The challenge will be to ensure that political competition does not become an obstacle to effective governance.
The consequences extend well beyond American domestic politics. The United States remains a central actor in international security, global trade, technology, finance and diplomatic affairs. Political changes in Washington therefore have consequences for countries far beyond its borders.
First, America’s relationships with traditional allies will remain under scrutiny. European countries and NATO members will be watching whether Washington maintains consistency in its security commitments and international partnerships. Second, strategic competition with China will continue to shape American foreign policy. Although there is considerable bipartisan support for maintaining America’s strategic position in the Indo-Pacific, differences may emerge over trade, military spending, technology restrictions and diplomatic engagement. Third, the Middle East will remain a major foreign policy challenge. The political consequences of the conflict with Iran, including its economic and security implications, will place additional pressure on the administration to explain its strategic objectives and the costs of its international engagements. For countries in the Indian Ocean, these developments deserve particular attention. America’s engagement with regional maritime security, freedom of navigation, strategic partnerships and regional connectivity will remain important considerations.
What does this mean for American democracy?
Perhaps the most important dimension of this election is institutional. American democracy is built around the separation of powers, electoral accountability and the ability of different political institutions to constrain one another. The midterm results demonstrate that congressional control can change even when the presidency remains in the hands of the opposing party. However, electoral accountability alone cannot resolve the deeper divisions within American society. Political polarisation, economic inequality, immigration debates, public confidence in institutions and the influence of technology on political discourse remain significant challenges. The question is whether political leaders can move beyond electoral confrontation and rebuild a degree of public trust.
The midterm outcome will inevitably accelerate political preparations for the 2028 presidential election. Both parties will begin reassessing their leadership, political strategies and electoral coalitions. For Trump, the remaining two years of his presidency will involve governing with a Congress controlled by the opposition. For Democrats, the responsibility will be to demonstrate that electoral success can translate into effective governance. Neither party can afford to treat the outcome as a permanent political settlement. American politics remains dynamic, and the next presidential election will be shaped by developments that have yet to unfold.
The 2026 midterms offer a wider lesson for democracies everywhere. Political authority is not simply secured through electoral victories; it must be sustained through public confidence, institutional credibility and the ability to respond to people’s concerns. For the international community, the central question is not whether America will remain powerful. Its economic, military, technological and diplomatic resources will continue to make it a major global power. The more important question is how consistently it will exercise that power.
A country that remains politically divided at home may find it increasingly difficult to provide predictable leadership abroad. Equally, a functioning system of checks and balances can strengthen institutional accountability and reinforce democratic legitimacy. The American electorate has delivered its message. The responsibility now rests with both political parties to demonstrate that democracy is not merely about winning elections, but about governing in the interests of the nation. Ultimately, America’s future will be determined not only by who occupies the White House, but also by how effectively its institutions work together.
(The writer is the Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber of Shipping, former Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies (INSS), and former Spokesman of the Ministry of Defence. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the London Dialogue. His areas of expertise include international relations, geopolitics, maritime affairs, national security, economic policy, and strategic governance. He is a consultant at JITT Group and a member of World Pace Board).
Continue Reading Features The Prisoner of Zenda , where suspense grips reader Published
I have thus far in this series dealt with mystery stories. These inevitably involve suspense, though the converse does not hold true, and there are lots of stories full of suspense in which there is no mystery. Having for half a year now looked at mysteries, I thought of moving to the other sort, where there may be no mystery but where the suspense grips one.
by Anthony Hope in 1894 heralded a cult of what has been termed Ruritanian novels, set in what would in those days have seemed in England tempestuous remote regions of Europe. It was predominantly the Balkans that fitted this characterisation, an area in which, after the Turks retreated, Austria and Russia fought for influence, the former backed by a newly united Germany under Prussia, the latter moving into alliance with France and through that England.
The plot of The Prisoner of Zenda is compelling, and led to it being filmed several times over. The first time was in 1937, with then heart throb Ronald Colman as the hero Rudolf Rassendyl and Douglas Fairbanks also a heart throb as the dynamic villain Rupert of Hentzau.
Fifteen years later, Stewart Granger became the hero and James Mason Rupert. Deborah Kerr was the heroine, the role taken by Madeleine Carroll previously. And both films had wonderful actors in support, Raymond Massey and David Niven in 1937 and in 1957 Louis Calhern, who had played Julius Caesar in the celebrated film that starred James Mason and John Gielgud and Marlon Brando.
Hope was barely known by my contemporaries at Oxford, for he had passed out of fashion in the brave new world that emerged, not after the Second World War, but a decade later when a British Prime Minister could claim, in all seriousness, that his people had never had it so good. But I was lucky to find that the father of one of my friends, who was a philosophy don at Christ Church, was an aficionado of Hope, and we much enjoyed talking about him, and about much else, which I suspect the rest of his family thought very old fashioned.
But even from him I could not get a copy of the book, and now I cannot remember where, twenty years later, I finally found it. But where I first read it came back to me vividly as I read it for a second time, hugely enjoying it again. This was in the little room in the guesthouse at Sabaragamuwa University which had been left at my disposal. My driver Kithsiri had the staff room at the back, while I could house visitors in the other two rooms down below. This did not happen too often, after the first early years of showing off the place to friends.
The window of my bedroom looked out on the staff canteen, and year after year whoever ran it would bring me a cup of coffee at 6 o’clock, which I drank whilst lying in bed. Indeed, I spent most of my time in the house in that large double bed for, though I sometimes marked papers at the dining table upstairs, it was just as easy to do this in bed. And when I did not have such work, I would read there till long after the canteen lights went out.
It was there that, in a night or two, I finished The Prisoner of Zenda . For its plot was compelling, involving the dramatic adventures of the young Englishman Rudolf Rassendyl, who tells the story, having gone to Ruritania because of a family legend about a close connection between his family and the Ruritanian royal family. This was that a former king had, while in England before taking up his throne, had an affair with a Rassendyl lady.
The kingdom of Ruritania, the setting of The Prisoner of Zenda , is clearly in the Balkans, which had become a centre of intrigue in the struggles of European nations for dominance by 1894, when the novel appeared. Later Ruritanian novels, as tales of intrigue set in that region which followed were called, sometimes involved struggles for international influence there but Hope himself dwelt only on internal intrigues, the machinations of royalty and their hangers on for power and also for romance.
Royalty in Ruritania however also involved the English, for as a result of the affair of earlier years the heir to the Rassendyll Earldom was in fact an Elphberg, the family name of the royal family of Ruritania. But the characteristic red hair of the Elphbergs appeared only sporadically. Rudolph had it, which is what motivated him to explore travel to Ruritania, but once there he found that he was the spitting image of its new king, who was shortly to be crowned.
But the future King Rudolph’s half-brother Black Michael has other ideas, and drugs the king so that he cannot get to the coronation. And when his loyal companions discover this, they persuade Rassendyl, who has been drinking with the king the previous night, to take his place. That impersonation works well, and Rudolf receives the adulation of the citizens, but then what had been intended as a masquerade for a night has to be protracted, for the king is kidnapped by his brother and kept a prisoner in the Castle of Zenda.
The good guys then have to try to rescue the king while keeping the impersonation secret, most vitally from the king’s cousin Princess Flavia, who was meant to marry the king but has been averse to him though now she falls in love with Rassendyl and he with her.
The situation is compounded by a French lady. Antoinette de Mauban, who is in love with Black Michael, but warns Rassendyl about his stratagems, in part because she is comparatively decent, in part because Michael plans, if he eliminates both Rudolphs, to marry Flavia himself. And then to complicate matters further, one of Black Michael’s henchmen, Rudolph of Hentzau, is not so loyal as not to try to seduce Antoinette himself. He tries to involve Rassendyl in a plot to eliminate Michael, so they can share the spoils as he sees them, but of course Rassendyl turns him down. But then Rupert gets carried away, not perhaps by lust so much as by his love of devilry, and in the ensuing melee, Rassendyl having been able to bribe his way into the castle, the king is rescued.
Unlike the other henchmen, Rupert survives to take centre stage along with Rassendyl in the sequel. But otherwise all ends well, with everyone having a piece of the action, including the ill-treated king. Or rather, the king having recovered, there is also sadness for Rassendyl and Flavia, for they have to part so she can do her duty for the king and country.
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