Pink Abalone Shell, Haliotis corrugata

Pink Abalone Shell, Haliotis corrugata. Shell collected off the beach in the greater San Diego area, San Diego, California, August 2002. Size: 20.3 cm (8.0 inches) x 16.1 cm (6.3 inches). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Pink Abalone, Haliotis corrugata (Wood, 1828), is a member of the Haliotidae Family of Abalone Shells. They are also known as the Corrugated Abalone and in Mexico as abulo’n amarillo. They have a more circular profile than the Black Abalone and the Green Abalone. They also have a higher profile than Green Abalone, relative to their length. The exterior of the shell is sculpted with wavy spiral ridges that are crossed by diagonal ridges that extend to the edges of the shell, yielding a corrugated appearance for which they receive their common name. They have three or four holes that are sharply elevated above the shell surface. Most specimens are heavily overgrown with marine life. The exterior of the shell is greenish gray, gray-brown, or reddish-brown, or a whorled combination of these colors; the interior is a mix of iridescent pink and green; the epipodium is mottled black and white; the tentacles are gray to black. Pink Abalone reach a maximum length of 25.0 cm (9.8 inches).

Pink Abalone live on, and under, rocks, intertidally to depths of 55 m (180 feet). Pink Abalone range from Southern California to Bahia Tortugas Baja California Sur.  Reports of this shell being found in the Sea of Cortez have not been substantiated.

Synonyms include Haliotis diegoensis and Haliotis nodosa.