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# Abalone

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? Abalone
The shell of a Red Abalone
Scientific classification

Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Mollusca
Class: | Gastropoda
Subclass: | Orthogastropoda
Superorder: | Vetigastropoda
Order: | Archeogastropoda
Superfamily: | Haliotoidea
Family: | Haliotidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genus: | Haliotis Linnaeus, 1758

A piece of abalone shell
The iridescent inside surface of an abalone shell
The raw meat of abalone

Abalone (from Spanish Abulón) are a species of shellfish (mollusks) from the Haliotidae family and Haliotis genus. Abalone belong to the large class Gastropoda. There is only one genus in the family Haliotidae and about four to seven subgenera. The taxonomy is somewhat confused. The number of species ranges from about 100 to 130 species (due to the occurrence of hybrids).

Abalone are characterized by a richly coloured inside shell made of nacre. This is also called ear-shell, ormer in Guernsey, perlemoen in South Africa, and pāua in New Zealand.

The meat of this mollusk is considered a delicacy in certain parts of Latin America (especially Chile), South East Asia, and East Asia (especially in China, Japan, and Korea).

## [edit] Description

The Haliotid family occurs all over the world. It is present along the coastal waters of every continent, except the Atlantic coast of South America, the Caribbean, and the East Coast of the United States. Most abalones are found mainly in cold waters, off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Chilean vast Pacific coast, the species called loco (Concholepas Concholepas, Bruguière, 1789) has a hard shell of a pitch-black color, and is widely exploited and consumed.

The family has unmistakable characteristics : the shell is rounded to oval, with two to three whorls, and the last one auriform, grown into a large "ear", giving rise to the common name ‘ear-shell’. The body whorl has a series of holes — four to ten depending on the species, near the anterior margin.

There is no operculum. The back is convex. It ranges from highly arched to very flattened. These shells cling solidly with their muscular foot to rocky surfaces at sublittoral depths. The color is very variable from species to species. The inside of the shell consists of iridescent, silvery white to green-red mother-of-pearl through to Haliotis Iris. This color can be of pinks and reds with predominant deep blues, greens and purples.

Abalones reach maturity at a small size. Their fecundity is high and increases with size (from 10,000 to 11 million eggs at a time).

The larvae feed on plankton. The adults are herbivores and feed with their rhipidoglossan radula on macroalgae. They prefer red algae. Sizes vary from 20 mm (Haliotis pulcherrima) to 200 mm (or even more) (Haliotis rufescens).

### [edit] Abalone shell

The shell of the abalone is known for being exceptionally strong. It is made of microscopic calcium carbonate tiles stacked like bricks. Between the layers of tiles is a sticky protein substance. When the abalone shell is struck, the tiles slide instead of shattering and the protein stretches to absorb the energy of the blow. Material scientists at the University of California, San Diego are studying the tiled structure for insight into stronger ceramic products such as body armor.[1] The dust created through the grinding and cutting of abalone shell is dangerous and appropriate safeguards should be taken to protect a person from inhaling its particles. A dust respirator that is NIOSH-approved N95, made for fine particles, using a ventilation system and wet grinding are requirements to working the shell safely. The Calcium carbonate is a respiratory irritant and the particles can get into the lower respiratory tree and cause irritant bronchitis and other respiratory irritation responses. The usual symptoms are cough and sputum production, and secondary infections can occur. If there are proteins left in the shell matrix, it is also possible that they could trigger an allergic (asthmatic) attack. In general, the more someone is exposed to something that triggers their asthma reaction, then the larger the reaction. Allergic skin reactions can also occur.

The iridescence of the inside of the abalone shell lends itself to decorative inlays—in guitars, for example.

## [edit] Farming

  See also: Aquaculture

There have been a number of attempts to artificially grow (farm) abalone for the purpose of consumption.[2][3]

## [edit] Notes

1. ↑ Lin, A., Meyers, M.A. (2005). "Growth and structure in abalone shell". Materials Science and Engineering A 390 (Jan. 15): 27-41. Retrieved on 2006-05-31.
2. ↑ Abalone Farming on a Boat. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.
3. ↑ The Abalone Farm. Retrieved on 2007-01-27.

## [edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Haliotidae
Wikisource has original 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica text related to:
Abalone

- California Red Abalone
- Bullet proof abalone
- Abalone biology
- Online Archive of California
- Conchology
- Specimen shells; many pictures.
- New Zealand Natural Abalone (Paua) Pearls; interesting pictures.
- Man and Mollusk : many links
- Natural Abalone "horn" Pearls : Sample photos
- Imagemap of worldwide abalone distribution
- Hardy's Internet Guide to Marine Gastropods : Shell Catalog
- Abalone: Species Diversity
- Team Spawns Rare White Abalone
- White Abalone - An Extinct Possibility?
- Muricidae - Concholepas
- Avoiding offshore transport of competent larvae during upwelling events: the case of the gastropod Concholepas Concholepas in Central Chile

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Categories: Complex pages | Gastropods

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