Black abalone
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| Haliotis cracherodii Leach, 1814 |
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The black abalone, Haliotis cracherodii, used to be the most abundant aquatic mollusk on the Pacific Coast of North America. Now, through intense fishing and the Withering Syndrome, it has much declined in population.
Natural predators are sea otters, starfish, fishes and octopuses.
There is a subspecies: Haliotis cracherodii californiensis, to be found around Guadalupe Island, off Baja California (Mexico).
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[edit] Length
The black abalone's length can reach a maximum of 20 cm.
[edit] Description
The exterior shell is smoother than most abalones. It has a dark brown, dark green or almost black color. The interior of the shell is pink and green iridescent. The tentacles are black. There are usually five to seven open shell holes.
[edit] Habitat
Black abalones cling to rocky surfaces in high intertidal zones, up to 6 m deep.
[edit] Range
Abalones can normally be found along the West Coast of the United States, from Oregon to Baja California.
[edit] Diseases
Black abalones are subject to a chronic, progressive and lethal disease: the Withering Syndrome or abalone wasting disease, leading to mass mortality. This caused the closure in California of fishing for black abalones in 1993.
[edit] Reference
- Oliver APH The Hamlyn Guide to Shells of the World, ISBN 0-600-56577-7
