''Haliotis pirimoana'', also known as the Manawatāwhi pāua or the Three Kings abalone, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of edible

sea snail Sea snails are slow-moving marine (ocean), marine gastropod Mollusca, molluscs, usually with visible external shells, such as whelk or abalone. They share the Taxonomic classification, taxonomic class Gastropoda with slugs, which are distinguishe ...

, a marine

gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, freshwater, and fro ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

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

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

Description

The size of the shell for mature ''H. pirimoana'' varies between 30.1 mm and 37.1 mm in length, 20.2 mm and 24.3 mm in width and 6.6 mm and 8.7 mm in height. "Foot cream, with irregular, darker grey and/or green bands on exposed surfaces. Protoconch opaque white, surface rough, lacking strong sculpture, of approximately 0.7 whorls, 0.23 mm width, with a distinctive V-shaped notch indenting the suture just before protoconch/teleoconch boundary. Shell ovoid, length up to 37.7 mm (31.3–37.7 mm), length/width ratio 1.49–1.56, with 5–7 open tremata. First half teleoconch whorl opaque white, second half whorl translucent, pale, with faint, similar, commarginal axial lamellae, their spacing increasing slightly with size; fine spiral riblets finer or absent nearer suture. Later whorls with numerous fine spiral threads (width to 0.24 mm) that multiply by intercalation; interspaces about as wide as threads, or slightly narrower; most threads of similar width, but every second or fourth thread usually slightly wider; radial sculpture comprising a series of broad, irregular, rounded, non-commarginal radial wrinkles, numerous fine and similar commarginal primary lamellae, and more numerous, much finer secondary lamellae (5–15 per primary lamella). Dorsal colouration: apex pale pink; last adult whorl typically uniform light or dark green but some specimens predominantly red or golden, typically with broad, irregular red patches. Each 4th or 8th primary spiral cord in some specimens with regularly alternating brown and paler sectors; some specimens additionally with irregular chevron-shaped colour blotches, their spacing gradually increasing abapically, strongest adapically and near peripheral concavity. Interior brilliantly nacreous. Muscle scar poorly defined. Columella relatively tightly coiled."

Distribution

''H. pirimoana'' is endemic to the waters surrounding the Three Kings Islands (Manawatāwhi),

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and King Bank.

Human use

Regulations are in place for the harvesting of "

pāua Pāua is the Māori name given to four New Zealand species of large edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs which belong to the family Haliotidae (in which there is only one genus, ''Haliotis''). It is known in the United States and Aust ...

" in the Auckland and Kermadec area wherein the entirety of the Three Kings Islands and therefore the locality of ''H. pirimoana'' can be found.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q130369793 pirimoana Gastropods described in 2024