2014/06/27 by Thomas von Rintelen, Björn Stelbrink, Ristiyanti M. Marwoto +1 · 3 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Mollusks and Parasites Studies #Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior #Evolution and Paleontology Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098917
openalex publication_date 2014/06/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/08
The complex geological history of the Indonesian island Sulawesi has shaped the origin and subsequent diversification of its taxa. For the endemic freshwater snail Tylomelania a vicariant origin from the Australian margin has been hypothesized. Divergence time estimates from a mtDNA phylogeny based on a comprehensive island-wide sampling of Tylomelania fit regional tectonic constraints and support the 'out-of-Australia' vicariance hypothesis. The Banggai-Sula region of the Sula Spur, the Australian promontory colliding with West Sulawesi during the Miocene, is identified as a possible source area for the colonization of Sulawesi by the ancestor of Tylomelania. The molecular phylogeny also shows a rapid diversification of Tylomelania into eight major lineages with very little overlap in their distribution on the island. Haplotype networks provide further evidence for a strong spatial structure of genetic diversity in Tylomelania. Distribution boundaries of the major lineages do at best partially coincide with previously identified contact zones for other endemic species groups on Sulawesi. This pattern has likely been influenced by the poor dispersal capabilities and altitudinal distribution limits of this strict freshwater inhabitant. We suggest that late Miocene and Pliocene orogeny in large parts of Sulawesi has been the vicariant event driving primary diversification in Tylomelania.