''Tylomelania'' is a genus of

freshwater snail Freshwater snails are gastropod mollusks which live in fresh water. There are many different families. They are found throughout the world in various habitats, ranging from ephemeral pools to the largest lakes, and from small seeps and springs ...

s which have an operculum, aquatic

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusks in the family Pachychilidae. In the aquarium hobby, snails from this genus are commonly known as "rabbit snails" (not to be confused with

sea hares The clade Anaspidea, commonly known as sea hares (''Aplysia'' species and related genera), are medium-sized to very large opisthobranch gastropod molluscs with a soft internal shell made of protein. These are marine gastropod molluscs in the s ...

). A

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

(the closest relative) of ''Tylomelania'' is genus ''

Pseudopotamis ''Pseudopotamis'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pachychilidae. Distribution It occurs on the Torres Strait Islands. A sister group (the closest relative) of ''Pseudopota ...

'' (2 species living on the Torres Strait Islands).von Rintelen T., Stelbrink B. Marwoto R. M. & Glaubrecht M. (2014). "A Snail Perspective on the Biogeography of Sulawesi, Indonesia: Origin and Intra-Island Dispersal of the Viviparous Freshwater Gastropod ''Tylomelania''". ''PLoS ONE'' 9(6): e98917. . ''Tylomelania'' and ''Pseudopotamis'' split in the

Middle Miocene The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million y ...

c. 19.5 Mya.

Distribution

These freshwater snails are endemic to

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

in Indonesia, with the vast majority restricted to

Lake Poso Lake Poso ( id, Danau Poso) is a lake in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the third-deepest lake in Indonesia. The town of Pendolo is situated at the southern end of the lake, the town of Tentena is located at the northern end, while a numbe ...

and the Malili Lake system (consisting of

Matano Lake Matano ( id, Danau Matano), also known as Matana, is a natural lake in East Luwu Regency, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia. With a depth of , it is the deepest lake in Indonesia (ranked by maximum depth), the 10th deepest lake in the wo ...

and Towuti, and the smaller Lontoa (Wawantoa), Mahalona, Masapi).von Rintelen T., von Rintelen K. & Glaubrecht M. (2010). "The species flock of the viviparous freshwater gastropod ''Tylomelania'' (Mollusca: Cerithioidea: Pachychilidae) in the ancient lakes of Sulawesi, Indonesia: the role of geography, trophic morphology and colour as driving forces in adaptive radiation." pp. 485–512 in: Glaubrecht, M. & Schneider H. eds. (2010). ''Evolution in Action: Adaptive Radiations and the Origins of Biodiversity''. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany. They probably cannot live at an altitude above about 700 m.

Species

There were known 34 described species in 2005. Thomas von Rintelen with colleagues described 15 new species of ''Tylomelania'' in 2003–2008. ''Tylomelania'' species diversification started in c. 5.4 Mya and was probably caused by the

late Miocene The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million ye ...

and Pliocene

orogeny Orogeny is a mountain building process. An orogeny is an event that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An ''orogenic belt'' or ''orogen'' develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted t ...

. Species within the genus ''Tylomelania'' include: * '' Tylomelania abendanoni'' (Kruimel, 1913) * '' Tylomelania amphiderita'' von Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007von Rintelen, Bouchet P. & Glaubrecht M. (2007). "Ancient lakes as hotspots of diversity: a morphological review of an endemic species flock of ''Tylomelania'' (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea: Pachychilidae) in the Malili lake system on Sulawesi, Indonesia". ''Hydrobiologia'' 592:11–94. . * ''

Tylomelania bakara ''Tylomelania'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pachychilidae. In the aquarium hobby, snails from this genus are commonly known as "rabbit snails" (not to be confused with sea ha ...

'' von Rintelen & Glaubrecht, 2003von Rintelen T. & Glaubrecht M. (2003). "New discoveries in old lakes: three new species of ''Tylomelania'' Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897 (Gastropoda: Cerithioidea: Pachychilidae) from the Malili lake system on Sulawesi, Indonesia". '' Journal of Molluscan Studies'' 69(1): 3–17. * '' Tylomelania baskasti'' von Rintelen & Glaubrecht, 2008von Rintelen T. & Glaubrecht M. (2008). "Three new species of the freshwater snail genus ''Tylomelania'' (Caenogastropoda: Pachychilidae) from the Malili lake system, Sulawesi, Indonesia". '' Zootaxa'' 1852: 37–49
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* '' Tylomelania carbo'' Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897 * '' Tylomelania carota'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898) * ''

Tylomelania celebicola ''Tylomelania celebicola'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pachychilidae. This species was originally described as a subspecies. The specific name ''celebicola'' is derived from th ...

'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898) * ''

Tylomelania centaurus ''Tylomelania centaurus'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called ...

'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898) * '' Tylomelania confusa'' von Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007 * '' Tylomelania connectens'' Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898 * ''

Tylomelania gemmifera ''Tylomelania gemmifera'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pachychilidae. Distribution This species occurs in Malili lakes, Sulawesi, Indonesia. It occurs in one lake; the type ...

'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897) * '' Tylomelania hannelorae'' von Rintelen & Glaubrecht, 2008 * '' Tylomelania helmuti'' von Rintelen & Glaubrecht, 2003 * '' Tylomelania inconspicua'' von Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007 * ''

Tylomelania insulaesacrae ''Tylomelania insulaesacrae'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pachychilidae. Distribution This species occurs in Malili lakes, Sulawesi, Indonesia. It occur in the single lake ...

'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1897) * '' Tylomelania kristinae'' von Rintelen, Bouchet & Glaubrecht, 2007 * '' Tylomelania kruimeli'' von Rintelen & Glaubrecht, 2003 * ''

Tylomelania kuli ''Tylomelania'' is a genus of freshwater snails which have an operculum, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Pachychilidae. In the aquarium hobby, snails from this genus are commonly known as "rabbit snails" (not to be confused with sea ha ...

'' (Sarasin & Sarasin, 1898) * ''

Tylomelania lalemae ''Tylomelania lalemae'' is a species of freshwater snail with an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Pachychilidae. Distribution This species occurs in Malili Lakes, Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is ...

'' (Kruimel, 1913) * '' Tylomelania mahalonensis'' (Kruimel, 1913) – synonym: ''Tylomelania mahalonica'' (Kruimel, 1913)