Order

Lepetellida

  Class

Gastropoda

  No. of Genera in Ref.

  No. of Species in Ref.

  Environment

Fresh : No | Brackish : No | Marine : Yes

  Aquarium

  First Fossil Record

     

  Remark

Shell ear-shaped, depressed and loosely coiled. Spire eccentric and protruding only a little or not at all. A spiral row of holes on the left side of body whorl, sometimes on tubular projections, the last few remaining open. Aperture broad, occupying most of the underside, with a remarkably thickened inner lip. Interior nacreous, with a big subcentral muscle scar. No operculum (Ref. 128042). Head with a short snout and long, rounded tentacles bearing eyes on short lateral stalks of their outer bases. Foot broad and ovate, very strong. A sensory ridge around the edge of the foot, bearing a series of tentacles. Two gills, the right one slightly reduced in size. Firmly attached to hard substrates by their powerful muscular foot, from intertidal to depths of about 50 m. Active during the night, crawling rapidly about and rasping algae. Sexes separate, fertilization external. Eggs released singly, each one enclosed in a gelatinous sheath and hatching as planktonic larva. Abalones are commercially important species as food and for shell ornaments. Though tropical species are relatively small, compared to the temperate ones, they are actively collected due to the high demand of the Japanese market (Ref. 348).

  Etymology

  Division

  Reproductive guild

  Typical activity level

  Main Ref.

  Coordinator