Haliotis fulgens Philippi, 1845
Green abalone, 160mm

The Green abalone is one of several species of large abalone along the California coast. With its shell usually encrusted with growth, it is most easily differentiated from the similar looking Haliotis corrugata (Pink abalone) by its gray tentacles (rather than black) around the rim of the shell. Once common and highly sought after by divers for food, overcollecting and a strange wasting disease seriously reduced the population. Now they are off limits but have been slow to come back. I've seen reports that since they spawn by broadcasting their sperm or eggs into the water where fertilization occurs, the animals have to be close together, perhaps within a meter or two, for much successful spawning to take place. They are rare enough now that we almost never see them that close together.

Juvenile.

Created 24 January 2021

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