Multicolored abalone

Haliotis diversicolor

Molluscs
IUCN: Data deficient

Usual depth0–265 m
Water temperature17–29 °C
Best monthsAugust, September, and October
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) Se Lena, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Haliotis diversicolor, common name the variously coloured abalone, is a species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Haliotidae, the abalone.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Haliotis diversicolor”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 7 records
February: 8 records
March: 10 records
April: 9 records
May: 13 records
June: 17 records
July: 17 records
August: 19 records
September: 24 records
October: 21 records
November: 10 records
December: 5 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–265 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 13 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 17–29 °C

16–18 °C: 2 records
18–20 °C: 15 records
20–22 °C: 9 records
22–24 °C: 15 records
24–26 °C: 28 records
26–28 °C: 54 records
28–30 °C: 22 records

Photos

(c) Se Lena, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Saryu Mae 前朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Multicolored abalone, Many-colored Abalone, multicolored abalone, Small Abalone

Names in 4 more languages

German: Vielfarbige Abalone, Vielfarbiges Meerohr
Japanese: Tokobushi
Korean: 마대오분자기
Simplified Chinese: 九孔螺

Other scientific names: Haliotis (Sulculus) diversicolor, Sulculus diversicolor

Similar species

Blacklip abalone
Haliotis rubra
Silver abalone
Haliotis australis
Reddish-rayed Abalone
Haliotis coccoradiata
Circular ear shell
Haliotis cyclobates
Abalone
Haliotis iris
Greenlip Abalone
Haliotis laevigata

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
442 open-data records from 1846 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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