''Haliotis glabra'', commonly called ''glistening 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

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 ...

s. The homonym ''Haliotis glabra'' Swainson, 1822 is a synonym of ''

Haliotis laevigata ''Haliotis laevigata'', common name the smooth Australian abalone or greenlip abalone or whitened ear shell, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones. Description The shell measures up to ...

'' Donovan, 1808. ''Haliotis glabra'' Chemnitz, 1788 is unavailable. ''Haliotis glabra'' Schubert & Wagner, 1829 is a synonym of ''

Haliotis cracherodii ''Haliotis cracherodii'', the black abalone, is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones. This species is relatively small compared with most of the other abalone species from the ...

'' Leach, 1814.

Description

The size of the shell varies between 25 mm and 55 mm. "The oval, depressed shell is marked with arrow-shaped olive or green spots on a lighter ground. The surface is nearly smooth. The six to eight small perforations are small., their edges not raised.The shell is oval or elliptical,with the right and left sides equally curved. The small

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 lateral, scarcely projecting above the general outline of the shell. The ground color is whitish-green, mottled and marked all over with triangular or arrow-shaped spots of green or olive. The surface is smooth, except for very light growth striae and narrow impressed spiral lines. There are a few narrow raised striae between the row of holes and the columellar margin. The inner surface is silvery and iridescent. The columellar plate is flat, wide above, gradually becoming narrower toward its base. The cavity of the spire is minute and concealed. "H.A. Pilsbry (1890) Manual of Conchology XII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1890
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Distribution

This marine species occurs off the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and Northern Australia.

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): 9

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5642420 glabra Gastropods described in 1791