Abalones attach to rocky surfaces with extremely strong suction applied at their foot. Their ventilating stream enters just above the foot, and rather than a slit arrangement for the exiting waste stream, they use several of the most recent holes along the edge of the shell (the remaining holes are usually plugged). Abalones have rather elaborate secondary gill structures all along the upper edge of the foot. They feed exclusively on green algae.

Highly prized as food, the slow-growing, temperate water abalone, Haliotis rufescens, is today scarce from over-harvesting. The Tropical Abalone is rapid growing and a plentiful resource in Southeast Asia; Japanese chefs find little if any difference in taste.

Abalones look very different in general shape, but they as well as top shells, slit shells, true limpets and keyhole limpets, all share a common evolutionary ancestry. Hence, these families are grouped in the order, Archaeogastropoda.

All are spirally coiled, top-shaped or somewhat flattened, and have a wide aperture pressed close to the ground. The limpet shell is coiled in immature forms although it shows a loss of coiling in the adult. All still show some vestiges of a primitive bilateral symmetry (i.e., paired gills, paired glands, paired kidneys, etc.). Torsion in these families is also reduced, unlike the strong torsion seen in more advanced gastropod orders, where loss of the right gill and right hand portions of other paired organs is common.

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Haliotis asinina (Ass's-ear abalone)
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Haliotis asinina (Ass's-ear abalone)

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Haliotis clathrata (Lovely abalone)
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Haliotis clathrata (Lovely abalone)

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Haliotis corrugata (Pink abalone)
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Haliotis corrugata (Pink abalone)

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Haliotis cracherodii (Black abalone)
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Haliotis cracherodii (Black abalone)

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Haliotis cyclobates (Circular abalone)
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Haliotis cyclobates (Circular abalone)

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Haliotis discus hannai (Japanese abalone)
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Haliotis discus hannai (Japanese abalone)

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Haliotis elegans (Elegant abalone)
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Haliotis elegans (Elegant abalone)

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Haliotis fulgens (Green abalone)
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Haliotis fulgens (Green abalone)

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Haliotis iris (Blackfoot paua)
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Haliotis iris (Blackfoot paua)

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Haliotis kamtschatkana assimilis (Threaded abalone)
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Haliotis kamtschatkana assimilis (Threaded abalone)

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Haliotis laevigata (Smooth Australian abalone)
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Haliotis laevigata (Smooth Australian abalone)

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Haliotis ovina ovina (Sheep's ear abalone)
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Haliotis ovina ovina (Sheep's ear abalone)

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Haliotis ovina ovina f. patamakanthini (Patamankinthini's oval abalone)
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Haliotis ovina ovina f. patamakanthini (Patamankinthini's oval abalone)

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Haliotis roei (Roe's abalone)
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Haliotis roei (Roe's abalone)

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Haliotis rubra conicopora
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Haliotis rubra conicopora

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Haliotis rufescens (Red abalone)
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Haliotis rufescens (Red abalone)

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Haliotis scalaris emmae (Emma's abalone)
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Haliotis scalaris emmae (Emma's abalone)

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Haliotis scalaris scalaris (Staircase abalone)
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Haliotis scalaris scalaris (Staircase abalone)

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Haliotis semiplicata (semiplicate abalone)
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Haliotis semiplicata (semiplicate abalone)

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Haliotis sorenseni (White abalone)
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Haliotis sorenseni (White abalone)

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Haliotis tuberculata coccinea (Green ormer)
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Haliotis tuberculata coccinea (Green ormer)

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Haliotis tuberculata lamellosa 
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Haliotis tuberculata lamellosa 

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Haliotis varia (Variable abalone)
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Haliotis varia (Variable abalone)

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