Abalone

Abalone Temporal range: Late Cretaceous – Recent[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Living abalone in tank showing epipodium and tentacles, anterior end to the right.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Lepetellida
Family:	Haliotidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genus:	Haliotis Linnaeus, 1758[2][3]
Type species
Haliotis asinina Linnaeus, 1758
Species
57, see species section
Synonyms[4]
Euhaliotis Wenz, 1938 Eurotis Habe & Kosuge, 1964 Exohaliotis Cotton & Godfrey, 1933 Haliotis (Haliotis) Linnaeus, 1758 Haliotis (Nordotis) Habe & Kosuge, 1964 Haliotis (Notohaliotis) Cotton & Godfrey, 1933 Haliotis (Padollus) Montfort, 1810 Haliotis (Paua) C. Fleming, 1953 Haliotis (Sulculus) H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854 Marinauris Iredale, 1927 Neohaliotis Cotton & Godfrey, 1933 Nordotis Habe & Kosuge, 1964 Notohaliotis Cotton & Godfrey, 1933 Ovinotis Cotton, 1943 Padollus Montfort, 1810 Paua C. Fleming, 1953 Sanhaliotis Iredale, 1929 Schismotis Gray, 1856 Teinotis H. Adams & A. Adams, 1854 Tinotis P. Fischer, 1885 (invalid: unjustified emendation of Teinotis) Usahaliotis Habe & Kosuge, 1964

Abalone (/ˈæbəloʊni/ ^ⓘ or /ˌæbəˈloʊni/; via Spanish abulón, from Rumsen aulón) is a common name for any small to very large marine gastropod mollusc in the family Haliotidae, which once contained six subgenera but now contains only one genus Haliotis.^[4] Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and, now rarely, muttonfish or muttonshells in parts of Australia, ormer in the UK, perlemoen in South Africa, and pāua in New Zealand.^[5] The number of abalone species recognized worldwide ranges between 30^[6] and 130^[7] with over 230 species-level taxa described. The most comprehensive treatment of the family considers 56 species valid, with 18 additional subspecies.^[8]

The shells of abalones have a low, open spiral structure, and are characterized by several open respiratory pores in a row near the shell's outer edge. The thick inner layer of the shell is composed of nacre, which in many species is highly iridescent, giving rise to a range of strong, changeable colors which make the shells attractive to humans as decorative objects, jewelry, and as a source of colorful mother-of-pearl.

The flesh of abalones is widely considered to be a delicacy, and is consumed raw or cooked by a variety of cultures.