The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Ab′alo′ne

AB′ALO′NE (Sp., origin unknown). Any one of several species of Haliotis (ear-shells or sea-ears) found along the California coast. The shell is a spiral so broadly flattened as to make an oval saucer, around the edge of which is a row of holes through which the tentacles pass when extended. The animal lives on rocks near the shore, feeding on seaweed; when frightened it withdraws entirely beneath its shell and clings with surprising force to the rock. The shell is lined with a bright mother-of-pearl much used in arts and crafts. The animal itself is used as food by the Chinese and Japanese; quantities of them are dried and exported from California to the Orient. The name “abalone” is local, but marine gastropods of the same family are abundant in all seas not too cold, outside the western Atlantic. In the Channel Islands off the coast of France, a species known as ormers, Fr. ‘oreilles de mer,’ is used as food. See Ear-shell.