Snails are my favorite group of aquatic creatures from Sulawesi. That's why I pay a lot of attention to them during field research. I will share some photos:

We looked for Tylomelania scalariopsis in the Saluopa River. We found a variety of shells (including T. s.), not all of them belonging to native species of aquatic snails!
Tylomelania sp. from the vicinity of Saluopa Falls. These snails are sometimes imported – but whether it is the same location and the same species is questionable. Very similar snails also live in other fast-flowing rivers in central or southern Sulawesi.
Tylomelania insulaesacrae is one of the smallest species of the genus. Lives on rocks in very shallow water in lakes Towuti and Mahalona. It is a critically endangered species.
Protancylus adhaerens from the family Planorbidae is very abundant in some parts of Lake Towuti. It can only be found on Tylomelania shells, or on the shells of their conspecifics.
Tylomelania patriarchalis is a large species, yet endangered. Lake Matano is full of invasive flowerhorn fish, which eat everything they can fit in their mouths. The young of these beautiful snails are easy prey. The situation is alarming!
Sulawesidrobia is an endemic genus of gastropods. While in Lake Towuti these miniature snails can also be seen on plants or on the upper side of stones, in Lake Matano they can now only be found very rarely on the underside of stones. The flowerhorns had almost wiped them out.
Observing snails in their natural environment helps to understand their nutritional requirements.
Many species of Tylomelania are bound to a specific substrate. We find a lot of them on wood, often on the underside of trunks.
Soft substrate dwellers in Lake Towuti.
Hard surface dwellers in Lake Poso.
These snails from Lake Poso have not yet been scientifically described.
See also the other selections of the best of the 2023 Sulawesi trip:

Markéta Rejlková