THE EAR SHELLS. ABALONES - FAMILY HALIOTIDAE. Shell pearly, ear-shaped, shallow, spiral, with outer coil very large, enclosing the body; aperture large, oval; operculum wanting; left side of shell punctured by a curving row of holes; muscle scar large, horse-shoe shaped; foot large, fleshy, fringed; mantle slit along row of holes, tentacular gill filaments passing out at each hole; tentacles two, long; eyes two, on short stalks. Habitat, rocky shores. Distribution: California, Japan, Indian Ocean, Africa, Australia and adjacent islands. One species in European waters.
The large shells furnish mother-of-pearl of commerce; foot edible; dried and used for food in the Orient. A single genus of many species.
Genus HALIOTIS, Linn.
"Where is the other half?" you inquire, when first introduced to the abalone shell.
"There is none. It is not a bivalve shell, like the clam's, but a univalve, like the snail's," is the reply.
"Then how does the animal manage to keep its body in this inverted saucer?" "That great scar in the middle of the saucer is the place where the body grows fast to the shell. Then there is considerable support given by the inturning rim on the left side, and under the coil." "How do you know which is the left side?" "The living mollusk thrusts his head out under the edge of the shell just where the row of holes ends. A pair of long ten tacles, two eyes on short stalks and a central broad-snout are the five prominent features. The tip of the broad foot is pointed backward, from under the spiral. All around outside of the edge of the shell is the fleshy, fringed margin of the mantle. The 222 The Ear Shells. Abalones creature walks on the under surface of its body. Its grip on a flat surface is astonishingly powerful." "What are the holes for?" "Through them are thrust long feelers from the mantle. Water which has bathed the gills is thrown out through these openings. The hindermost one is the anal aperture, discharging the waste matter from the intestine." " How do some holes happen to be closed?" " In young shells there are no open holes. Gradually open ones are added as the shell grows. As new ones are formed,
the oldest are closed by deposits from within, always leaving a certain number open." " How old is this shell?" "Who knows? The holes are not a record of the years it has lived." "What does the Abalone feed upon?" "Marine vegetation scraped from the rocks by means of the large rasping tongue." " Is the shell naturally so highly coloured and polished?" "Only inside. The lining, pearly and iridescent and lustrous, is nacre, secreted by certain glands in the mantle. A rough, horny coat covers the shell on the outside, and, by its resemblance to the rocks among which the ear shell lives, protects the mollusk from discovery by its natural enemies, large sea birds and rats. Under the horny layer is usually a calcareous one. The shells may be cleaned of this outer layer by the use of acids and by grinding." An abalone shell is one of the handsomest as well as one of the largest cabinet specimens obtainable from North American beaches. 1t is well named, "the aurora shell" and "the rainbow shell." The finest species of ear shells are found on the California coast. There the euphonious name "Abalone" is universally used. The mollusk is an important article of export. The shells furnish high grade mother-of-pearl. The muscular foot makes delicious soups and chowders, as almost any Californian will tell you. Yet few are consumed in this country in comparison with the vast numbers that the Chinese and Japanese fishermen catch, salt and dry for shipment to China, where this is a staple sea food. We hear tales of luckless "Chinks" drowned by the rising tide, their hands caught and held as in a vise between the rock 223 The Ear Shells. Abalones and the abalone's strong foot. This is very unlikely to happen. The Chinese fisherman goes out in a boat at low tide, and inspects the crevices in the rocks to find these mollusks. Sighting one, he gives it a sharp shove with a metal wedge fastened on the end of pole. Dislodged by this unexpected attack, the creature is easily taken in with a boat hook.