''Haliotis iris'', common name paua, blackfoot paua or rainbow 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 ...

of edible

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.Bouchet, P. (2014). Haliotis iris. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=445331 on 2014-10-15 ''Haliotis iris'' was originally credited to Martyn, 1784 (Univ. Conch, ii, t. 61.) but his work was invalidated in 1957 by the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the I ...

, opinion 456.

Distribution

This marine species is endemic to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Blackfoot paua is the largest abalone species found in New Zealand. It is most commonly found in shallow cool waters at depths less than 6 m. The species occurs all around mainland New Zealand, Stewart Island, and the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

. These sea snails often form large clusters in the sub-littoral zone on open, exposed coasts, where drift seaweed accumulates and there is good water movement. Blackfoot paua grow to about 180 mm in shell width.

Description

Paua belong to the molluscan

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Haliotis ''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, ...

, more commonly known as

s. The name

derives from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and means sea ear, reflecting the ear-like shape of the abalone shell. Three species of abalone occur naturally in

: blackfoot paua (''Haliotis iris''), yellowfoot paua (''

Haliotis australis ''Haliotis australis'', common name the "queen pāua," yellow-foot pāua, or austral abalone, is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones. Description The size of the shell varies between 4 ...

''), and whitefoot paua (''

Haliotis virginea ''Haliotis virginea'', Virgin pāua, is a species of edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.Rosenberg, G. (2012). Haliotis virginea Gmelin, 1791. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at h ...

''). The size of the shell of this species varies between 80 mm and 170 mm. "The two sides of the oval, convex shell are equally curved. The oblique

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 short and contains two

whorl A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

s and five to seven perforations. The surface is pitted. The

lip The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...

is continuous and is produced beyond the

body whorl The body whorl is part of the morphology of the shell in those gastropod mollusks that possess a coiled shell. The term is also sometimes used in a similar way to describe the shell of a cephalopod mollusk. In gastropods In gastropods, the b ...

. The inner surface is dark metallic blue and green, with yellow reflections. The muscle impression is distinct and roughened. The back of the shell is convex and angled at the row of perforations. The outer surface is pale brown or light olive-green, pitted as if by the intersection of two series of low oblique folds. The inside of the spire is brilliantly pearly, prussian blue and green predominating, but with reflections also of purple, orange and a little red. The columellar plate is broad, passing into the expanded continuation of the outer lip above. It is not truncate below. Its face is flattened, and slopes inward. The cavity of the spire is small."H.A. Pilsbry (1890) Manual of Conchology XII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1890
/ref>

Human use

''Haliotis iris'' is the only farmed species of paua found in New Zealand. That is mainly because of its size compared to its smaller relatives - the "yellow foot paua" and the even smaller "virgin paua" - which are also commonly used for jewellery arts and carvings around New Zealand. There is a worldwide trade in natural pearls from this species, which are known as Haliotis iris pearls or Paua pearls.

Notes

References

* Geiger D.L. & Poppe G.T. (2000). ''A Conchological Iconography: The family Haliotidae''. Conchbooks, Hackenheim Germany. 135pp 83pls * Somerville, Gayle (2013
"Exploring harvest regulations of the New Zealand paua abalone ''(Haliotis iris)'' via population modelling"
MSc thesis, University of Otago.

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5642423

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

Gastropods of New Zealand Gastropods described in 1791 Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin