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 of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae, which contains only one genus Haliotis (which once contained six subgenera).^[4] Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and, 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.