The pink abalone, scientific name ''Haliotis corrugata'', 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 large edible 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

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.Oliver, A.P.H. (2004). ''Guide to Seashells of the World.'' Buffalo: Firefly Books. 18.

Subspecies

* ''H. c. corrugata'' W. Wood, 1828 (synonyms: ''Haliotis diegoensis'' Orcutt, 1900; ''Haliotis nodosa'' Philippi, 1845) * ''H. c. oweni'' Talmadge, 1966 - synonym: ''Haliotis oweni'' Talmadge, 1966Rosenberg, G. (2010). ''Haliotis corrugata'' Wood, 1828. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=445308 on 2011-08-24

Distribution

Pink abalones can be found along the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast of North America from

Point Conception Point Conception (Chumash: ''Humqaq'') is a headland along the Gaviota Coast in southwestern Santa Barbara County, California. It is the point where the Santa Barbara Channel meets the Pacific Ocean, and as the corner between the mostly north ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to Bahia de Santa Maria, Baja California Sur,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Description

The

shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

is thick and characterized by strong corrugations and is more circular than other American abalones. The two to four open respiratory apertures have edges that are strongly elevated above the surface of the shell. These holes collectively make up the

selenizone A selenizone (from the Greek "selene" meaning "moon", and "zone" meaning "girdle") is an anatomical structure that exists in the shells of some families of living sea snails: the slit shells, the little slit shells and the abalones, which are ...

, which forms as the shell grows. The epipodium is a “ruffle” of tissue along the side of the foot. The head and epipodial tentacles are black, but the epipodial fringes are a mottled black and white, with many tubercles on the surface and a lacy edge. "The large shell is subcircular or short, oval, very convex, like a halfglobe. The surface is corrugated all over with nodose wrinkles. The three open perforations are elevated and tubular. The inner surface is dark, very brilliantly iridescent. The roughened muscle scar is distinct. The outline is more rounded than usual, being a very short oval. The back is very convex. The strong epidermis is dull,olive-brown with usually wide oblique greenish intervals. The

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

begins as crowded spiral cords or lirae, but over the greater part of the body whorl these become nodose at short intervals, or are crossed by obliquely radiating corrugations. It is angled at the row of the holes. Below these there is a distinct spiral channel or furrow, bounded below by a more or less distinct row of nodules. And between this and the columellar margin it is obliquely corrugated. The folds scalloping the lower part of the columellar margin. 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 a ...

does not project above the general outline of the shell. The inner surface is dark, iridescent, with red predominating in the coloration. The muscle impression is large, distinct, roughened all over, and like fine mosaic work in its brilliant coloration. The flat or concave columellar plate slopes strongly inward, and is not at all truncate at the base. Above it, it almost conceals the small cavity of the spire. The large tubular perforations number sometimes two, but normally three."H.A. Pilsbry (1890) Manual of Conchology XII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1890
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Ecology

Habitat

This species occupies sheltered waters at depths between 20 and 118 feet (6 – 36 m). They are herbivores, feeding on

kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwa ...

and drifting algae.

Life cycle

Pink abalone have separate sexes and broadcast spawn from March to November. Maturity is reached at about 1.4 in (35 mm) length or three to four years. Lifespan is 70 years or more.

Predators

Predators of this species other than mankind are sea otters,

sea star Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish a ...

s, large

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

, and octopus.

Diseases

Pink abalones are subject to a chronic, progressive and lethal disease: the Withering Syndrome or abalone wasting disease, leading to mass mortality.

Threats and conservation

Pink abalone are threatened by historic

overharvesting Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term ap ...

, illegal harvest, withering abalone syndrome disease, and climate change. In 1996, the California Department of Fish and Game closed the commercial and recreational abalone fisheries in California, but populations continued to decline. California has
Abalone Recovery Management Plan
to guide conservation efforts. The pink abalone is a US

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

br>Species of Concern
Species of Concern are those species about which the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

National Marine Fisheries Service
has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U
Endangered Species Act
Information regarding the status of pink abalone in Mexico is scant. A commercial fishery for pink abalone is still in place in Mexico and is managed by local cooperatives.

References

* Geiger D.L. & Owen B. (2012) ''Abalone: Worldwide Haliotidae''. Hackenheim: Conchbooks. viii + 361 pp.

9 February 2012 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

page(s): 77

External links

Gastropods.com

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3096257 corrugata Commercial molluscs Gastropods described in 1828 Taxa named by William Wood (zoologist)