Haliotis iris
Encyclopedia
Haliotis iris, common name paua or blackfoot paua, is a species
of edible sea snail
, a marine
gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalone
s. It is endemic to New Zealand
.
Haliotis that is more commonly known as abalone
. The name Haliotis derives from Greek
and means sea ear, reflecting the ear like shape of the abalone shell. Three species of abalone occur naturally in New Zealand
; black foot paua (Haliotis iris), yellowfoot paua (Haliotis australis) and white foot paua (Haliotis virginea).
Black foot paua is the largest abalone species found in New Zealand and is most commonly found in shallow cool waters at depths less than 6 m all around mainland New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. They often form large clusters in the sub-littoral zone on open, exposed coasts where drift seaweed accumulates and there is good water movement. Black foot paua grow to about 180 mm in shell length.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of edible sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
, a marine
Marine (ocean)
Marine is an umbrella term. As an adjective it is usually applicable to things relating to the sea or ocean, such as marine biology, marine ecology and marine geology...
gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
s. It is endemic to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Description
Paua belong to the molluscan genusGenus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Haliotis that is more commonly known as abalone
Abalone
Abalone , from aulón, are small to very large-sized edible sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Haliotidae and the genus Haliotis...
. The name Haliotis derives from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and means sea ear, reflecting the ear like shape of the abalone shell. Three species of abalone occur naturally in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
; black foot paua (Haliotis iris), yellowfoot paua (Haliotis australis) and white foot paua (Haliotis virginea).
Black foot paua is the largest abalone species found in New Zealand and is most commonly found in shallow cool waters at depths less than 6 m all around mainland New Zealand and the Chatham Islands. They often form large clusters in the sub-littoral zone on open, exposed coasts where drift seaweed accumulates and there is good water movement. Black foot paua grow to about 180 mm in shell length.