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Abalone
Abalone is the American English variant of the Spanish name Abulón used for various species of shellfish (mollusks) from the Haliotidae family (genus Haliotis). The abalones belong to the large class of gastropods (Gastropoda). There is only one genus in the family Haliotidae, and about four to seven subgenera. The taxonomy is somewhat confused. The number of species range from about 100 to about 130 species (due to the occurrence of hybrids), characterized by a richly coloured (on the inside?the outside is rough and mostly brown) shell yielding mother-of-pearl. This is also commonly called ear-shell, in Guernsey ormer (Fr. ormier, for oreille de mer), perlemoen in South Africa and paua in New Zealand. Abalone is also prevalent in Australian and South African coastal waters and is highly valued. The meat of an abalone is also considered an expensive delicacy in certain parts of South-East and East Asia, especially in Japan, although it has a high cholesterol content.
Glossary under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation Licence.
