''Haliotis varia'', common name the variable abalone or the common ear shell, 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 sea snail, a marine gastropod

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 group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

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, ...

, the abalones.Bouchet, P. (2012). ''Haliotis varia'' Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through:

World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialis ...

at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=207654 on 2013-02-02Geiger D.L. & Owen B. (2012) Abalone: Worldwide Haliotidae. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. viii + 361 pp. (29 February 2012)

Description

The size of the shell varies between 22 mm and 70 mm. It is shiny and the colour varies from something like mother of pearl to pink to red to gray to blue.

Distribution

This marine species occurs in the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...

and in the Indo-West Pacific, off

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

and in the

Mascarene The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Thei ...

Basin. It further occurs in the Western Pacific, from Sri Lanka to

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and off Australia (

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

) Records from East Africa and India are questionable according to Geiger & Poppe, 2000

References

* Röding, P.F. 1798. ''Museum Boltenianum sive Catalogus cimeliorum e tribus regnis naturae quae olim collegerat Joa.'' Hamburg : Trappii 199 pp. * Reeve, L.A. 1846. ''Descriptions of forty species of Haliotis, from the collection of H. Cumming, Esq.'' Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 14: 53-59 * Dunker, W. 1863. ''Novitates Conchologicae. Mollusca Marina. Beschreibung und Abbildung neuer oder wenig gekannter Meeres-Conchylien.'' Cassel : T. Fischer pp. 43–58, pls 13-18. * Pilsbry, H.A. 1890. ''Manual of Conchology''. Philadelphia : Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia Vol. 12 323 pp., 65 pls. * Iredale, T. 1929. ''Queensland molluscan notes, No. 1.'' Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 9(3): 261-297, pls 30-31 * Wilson, B. 1993. ''Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods.'' Kallaroo, Western Australia : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 1 408 pp. * Hylleberg, J & Kilburn, R.N. 2003. ''Marine Molluscs of Vietnam: Annotations, voucher material , and species in need of verification.'' Phuket Marine Biological Center Special Publication 28: 1-299

External links

To Barcode of Life (1 barcode)

To Biodiversity Heritage Library (55 publications)

To Encyclopedia of Life

To GenBank (22 nucleotides; 15 proteins)

To World Register of Marine Species
* varia Gastropods described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Haliotidae-stub