Haliotis corrugata

Taxobox
name = Pink abalone
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Gastropoda
ordo = Archaeogastropoda
familia = Haliotidae
genus = "Haliotis"
species = "H. corrugata"
binomial = "Haliotis corrugata"

The pink abalone, "Haliotis corrugata", is a species of large edible sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones.

Range

Pink abalones can be found along the Pacific coast of North America from Point Conception, California to Bahia de Santa Maria, Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Shell description

The shell is thick and characterized by strong corrugations and is more circular than other U.S. abalones. There are 2 to 4 open respiratory apertures with edges that are strongly elevated above the surface of the shell. The epipodium is a “ruffle” of tissue along the side of the foot. The head and epipodial tentacles are black, but the epipodial fringes are a mottled black and white, with many tubercles on the surface and a lacy edge.

Habitat

This species occupies sheltered waters at depths between 20 and 118 feet (6 - 36 m). They are herbivores, feeding on kelp and drifting algae.

Predators

Predators of this species other than mankind are sea otters, starfish, large fishes and octopuses.

Diseases

Pink abalones are subject to a chronic, progressive and lethal disease: the Withering Syndrome or abalone wasting disease, leading to mass mortality.

Reproduction

Pink abalone have separate sexes and broadcast spawn from March to November. Maturity is reached at about 1.4 inches (35 mm) length or 3 to 4 years. Lifespan is up to 30 years or more.

Threats and Conservation

Pink abalone are threatened by historic overharvesting, illegal harvesy, the Withering abalone syndrome disease, and climate change. In 1996 the California Department of Fish and Game closed the commercial and recreational abalone fisheries in California, but populations continued to decline. California has a [http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/armp/ Abalone Recovery Management Plan] to guide conservation efforts.

The pink abalone are a U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/concern/ Species of Concern] . Species of Concern are those species about which the U.S. Government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov National Marine Fisheries Service] has some concerns regarding status and threats, but for which insufficient information is available to indicate a need to list the species under the U.S. [http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/laws/esa/ Endangered Species Act] (ESA).

Information regarding the status of pink abalone in Mexico is scant. A commercial fishery for pink abalone is still in place in Mexico and is managed by local cooperatives.

References

* Oliver APH "The Hamlyn Guide to Shells of the World", ISBN 0-600-56577-7

External links

* [http://www.gastropods.com/2/Shell_1032.html Gastropods.com]
* [http://www.piscoweb.org/outreach/pubs/abalone.html Withering Syndrome in Black Abalone]