Haliotis

Abalone are sea snails in the genus Haliotis, the only genus in the family Haliotidae. Abalone shells are distinctive for their flattened, ear-like shape, nacreous interior, and row of holes used for respiration. The flesh of abalone is widely considered to be a delicacy, and is consumed raw or cooked in a variety of cuisines. Abalone are globally distributed, with approximately 70 known species alive today. Though some species are small, the largest abalone can attain a length of 12 inches (300 mm).

Haliotis

Sharktopus · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
HaliotidaePBDB
Diet
grazerPBDB, for Vetigastropoda
Life habit
epifaunalPBDB, for Vetigastropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Vetigastropoda
Vision
limitedPBDB, for Gastropoda

Time the record covers

At least 72 million years on record.

The record covers at least 72.2 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 83.6 Mya to 0 Mya.

Late Cretaceous — about 2 of 161 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 0 of 161 occurrencesEocene — about 0 of 161 occurrencesOligocene — about 0 of 161 occurrencesMiocene — about 37 of 161 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 18 of 161 occurrencesPleistocene — about 100 of 161 occurrences85–82 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences82–80 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences80–77 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences77–74 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences74–71 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences71–68 Mya — about 0.5 occurrences68–65 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences26–23 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences23–20 Mya — about 3 occurrences20–17 Mya — about 2 occurrences17–14 Mya — about 3 occurrences14–11 Mya — about 6 occurrences11–8.5 Mya — about 5 occurrences8.5–5.7 Mya — about 15 occurrences5.7–2.8 Mya — about 17 occurrences2.8–0 Mya — about 108 occurrences72.2 Mya11.7 ka85 Mya0 Mya

161 occurrences of Haliotis on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

161 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

28 formations

Unnamed — 33.24°N, 119.51°WUnnamed — 33.24°N, 119.55°WQuaternary terrace — 33.75°N, 118.33°WQuaternary terrace — 33.74°N, 118.41°WQuaternary terrace — 33.76°N, 118.35°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.99°N, 118.45°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.60°N, 117.88°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.71°N, 118.27°WMariana Limestone — 13.45°N, 144.78°EVarswater — 32.98°S, 18.15°EFernando — 34.05°N, 118.25°WFernando — 34.05°N, 118.25°WKoronia — 35.08°N, 33.17°EKoronia — 35.05°N, 33.10°EAscot — 32.08°S, 115.92°ETermofourà — 45.05°N, 7.80°ETermofourà — 45.04°N, 7.77°EPico — 34.34°N, 118.47°WPico — 34.35°N, 118.54°WNaha — 26.21°N, 127.65°ETamala Limestone — 32.04°S, 115.76°EPoint Allen — 36.00°S, 137.17°EDry Creek Sands — 34.85°S, 138.60°EGirbova de Sus — 46.43°N, 23.63°EFalun de Saucats — 44.66°N, 0.57°WFels — 48.50°N, 15.76°EAlifian Limestone — 13.45°N, 144.78°EMariana Limestone — 15.00°N, 145.63°ETakamaka Limestone — 9.42°S, 46.45°ETamala — 28.87°S, 114.63°ETuna Canyon — 34.12°N, 118.57°WUpper Coralline Limestone — 35.93°N, 14.33°EVaqueros — 34.76°N, 120.05°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Haliotis has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 4 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 90 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Haliotis and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Haliotis and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

2,044 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 92 sites for Haliotis, and this reads all of them. Of that, one read hit the database's own return limit, so every count below is a floor rather than a total. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

72 references

Each of the 161 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 60 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content3

Picture of Haliotis

Credit
Sharktopus
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
not stated by the source
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Haliotis corrugata · SMF:367382

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC0 Public Domain
Commercial use
the licence allows it

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itHaliotidae through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Linnaeus 1758