''Haliotis gigantea'', common name the giant abalone, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

sea snail Sea snail is a common name for slow-moving marine gastropod molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguished from snails primarily by the ...

, a

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

gastropod The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. T ...

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

in the family

Haliotidae ''Haliotis'', common name abalone, is the only genus in the family Haliotidae. This genus once contained six subgenera. These subgenera have become alternate representations of ''Haliotis''. The genus consists of small to very large, edible, h ...

, the

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any of a group of small to very large marine gastropod molluscs in the family (biology), family Haliotidae. Other common name In biology, a common name of a taxon o ...

s. It is known as Siebold's Abalone, after

Philipp Franz von Siebold Philipp Franz Balthasar von Siebold (17 February 1796 – 18 October 1866) was a German physician, botanist and traveler. He achieved prominence by his studies of Japanese flora (plants), flora and fauna (animals), fauna and the introduction of ...

.Bouchet, P. (2012). Haliotis gigantea Gmelin, 1791. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=367891 on 2013-02-06

Description

The size of the shell varies between 80 mm and 200 mm. "The very large shell has a rounded-oval, quite convex shape. The distance of the apex measures from the margin between one-ninth and one-tenth the length of the shell. The surface of the shell shows coarse, low, unequal spiral cords and broad wave-like undulations. The typical form of this shell is one of the largest in the genus. It has a rounded-oval outline. The back of the shell is quite convex and highest in the middle. It is solid but not very thick,. The coloration is reddish-brown, radiately streaked more or less with chocolate and green. The spiral cords are low but strong. And there are irregular but very strong wavelike obliquely radiating folds above. The four open perforations are situated in high tubercles upon a strong dorsal angle, below which the left side slopes steeply to the columellar margin. This slope has low spiral cords, waved or festooned below the row of the holes, and it has also an obtuse ridge parallel with that row, not far below it. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

is very small, quite low. Inside there are shallow spiral sulci and indentations at the positions of the cords and waves of the exterior. The

nacre Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent. Nacre is f ...

is light colored or silvery, to a high degree iridescent, reflections of emerald green and red predominating. The muscle attachment is smooth, but its posterior and lateral outlines are marked by a rugose line. The columellar plate is wide, its face concave, sloping inward." The

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

'' Panaietis haliotis'' Yamaguti, 1936 is

ectoparasitic Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

on this species.

Distribution

''H. gigantea'' is endemic to the waters off

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. Uichida K. & Yamamoto T. (1942). "朝鮮近海に於けるアハビの分布 On the distribution of ''Haliotis'' species in the Korean waters". ヴヰナス ''The Venus'' 11(4): 119-125
abstract
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References

* Geiger D.L. & Poppe G.T. (2000). ''A Conchological Iconography: The family Haliotidae''. Conchbooks, Hackenheim Germany. 135pp 83pls * Geiger D.L. & Owen B. (2012) ''Abalone: Worldwide Haliotidae''. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. viii + 361 pp. page(s): 93

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5642422 gigantea Gastropods described in 1791