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
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Subclass:	Vetigastropoda
Order:	Lepetellida
Superfamily:	Haliotoidea
Family:	Haliotidae Rafinesque, 1815
Genus:	Haliotis Linnaeus, 1758
Type species
Haliotis asinina Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms[2]
Euhaliotis Wenz, 1938 Eurotis Habe & Kosuge, 1964 Exohaliotis Cotton & Godfrey, 1933 Haliotis (Haliotis) Linnaeus, 1758 Haliotis (Marinauris) Iredale, 1937 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) are sea snails in the genus Haliotis, the only genus in the family Haliotidae.^[2] Abalone shells are distinctive for their flattened, ear-like shape, nacreous interior, and row of holes used for respiration. The flesh of abalone is widely considered to be a delicacy, and is consumed raw or cooked by a variety of cuisines. Abalone are globally distributed, with approximately 70 known species alive today. Though some species are small, the largest abalone can attain a length of 300 millimetres (12 in).