White abalone

Description

The white abalone, scientific name Haliotis sorenseni, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalones. The white abalone is an endangered species in the United States; it may now have the smallest population of all eight of the abalone species on the west coast of North America. Historically the white abalone ranged from Point Conception, California to Baja California, Mexico, and was found especially on the offshore islands. In the most northerly part of the California range, white abalone were reported as being more common along the mainland coast. However, in the middle portion of the California range, they were noted to occur more frequently at the offshore islands, especially San Clemente and Santa Catalina Islands. At the more southerly end of the range, in Baja California, Mexico, white abalone were reported to occur more commonly along the mainland coast, but were also found at a number of islands including Isla Cedros and Isla Natividad. It remains unknown whether this distribution pattern was a result of lack of suitable habitat along the mainland coast in the mid portion of the range, or was instead due to overfishing in these more accessible mainland regions. Since the mid-1990s, extremely low numbers of isolated survivors have been identified along the mainland coast in Santa Barbara County and at some of the offshore islands and banks in the middle portion of the range, indicating the current range of white abalone in California may be similar to what it was historically. No recent information on current range is available for Baja California. The white abalone population in Mexico is thought to be depleted based on commercial fishery data, but the status of the species in Mexico remains largely unknown. The white abalone usually has between 3-5 open holes (respiratory pores) in its shell. These holes collectively make up what is known as the selenizone which form as the shell grows. The shell is oval-shaped, very thin and deep. White abalone can grow to about 10 in (25 cm), but are usually 5–8 in (13–20 cm). The epipodial tentacles are lacy, beige and yellow-green in color. The bottom of its foot is orange, and the epipodium (a sensory structure and extension of the foot that bears tentacles) is a mottled orange tan