''Haliotis mariae'' 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

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 Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

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 ...

Description

The shell grows to a size of 100 mm. "The large, convex shell has an oval shape. The distance of 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 ...

from the margin is about one-fifteenth the length of the shell. The sculpture consists of very strong squarish spiral ribs, separated by wide excavated interstices. The 5 or 6 subcircular perforations are open with their edges moderately prominent..The right margin is quite convex, especially in the part of 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 ...

adjacent to the spire. The back of the shell is convex. It is not carinated at the row of holes, but there is a shallow sulcus just below it. The color of the shell is a reddish-brown, with irregular zigzagly radiating white flames. The surface shows a variable number of very prominent unequal spiral ridges, often double, or divided by a groove in the middle. The spire is few-whorled and is not elevated near the margin, The inner surface is silvery, with red, blue and green reflections. 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 sulcated spirally. The columellar ledge is flattened, becoming gradually narrower below, and is not at all truncated. The very small cavity of the spire is scarcely spiral and is almost concealed by the overhanging columellar plate."H.A. Pilsbry (1890) Manual of Conchology XII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1890
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...

and

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

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): 101

External links

Haliotis mariae harvest in Oman
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5642429 mariae Gastropods described in 1828