Haliotis rubiginosa explained

Haliotis rubiginosa, common name the Lord Howe abalone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.

This species was previously stated as a synonym, subspecies or form of Haliotis varia Linnaeus, 1758 ^[1]

Description

The size of the shell varies between 30 mm and 50 mm. "The ovate shell is rather convex, radiately plicately wrinkled and spirally ridged. The ridges are obtusely scaled. The six open perforations are rather approximated. The exterior surface is rusty orange, spirally streaked with white. Besides the peculiarity of its sculpture, it is very fairly characterized by its rusty orange painting and silvery interior."^[2]

Distribution and habitat

This marine species occurs in the littoral zone of Lord Howe Island, from the intertidal zone down to about 10 meters depth.

Further reading

• 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
• Iredale, T. 1929. Queensland molluscan notes, No. 1. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 9(3): 261–297, pls 30–31
• Geiger, D.L. 2000 [1999]. Distribution and biogeography of the recent Haliotidae (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda) world-wide. Bollettino Malacologico 35(5–12): 57–120
• Geiger, D.L. & Poppe, G.T. 2000. A Conchological Iconography. The family Haliotidae. Germany : ConchBooks 135 pp
• Geiger, D.L. & Owen, B. 2012. Abalone: Worldwide Haliotidae. Hackenheim, Germany : ConchBooks 361 pp.

Notes and References

1. Kaicher, 1981, Card Catalogue of Word Shells, Pack 28, Haliotis, Kaicher, St. Petersburg, Florida
2. https://archive.org/details/manualconch12tryorich H.A. Pilsbry (1890) Manual of Conchology XII; Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 1890