Abalone

Haliotis tuberculata

Molluscs
IUCN: Vulnerable

Usual depth4–28 m
Water temperature12–27 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Michael Bommerer, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Michael Bommerer · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The green ormer is a northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean species of sea snail, a coastal marine gastropod mollusc in the family Haliotidae, the abalone or ormer snails.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 124 records
February: 168 records
March: 187 records
April: 188 records
May: 226 records
June: 307 records
July: 526 records
August: 564 records
September: 448 records
October: 252 records
November: 167 records
December: 125 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 4–28 m · Deepest record: 48.5 m

0–10 m: 50 records
10–20 m: 51 records
20–30 m: 10 records
30–40 m: 9 records
40–50 m: 3 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–27 °C

10–12 °C: 1 records
12–14 °C: 32 records
14–16 °C: 0 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 15 records
20–22 °C: 3 records
22–24 °C: 5 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 5 records

Photos

(c) Fotios Christodoulou, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Fotios Christodoulou · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Fotios Christodoulou, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Fotios Christodoulou · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) H. Zell, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) JH, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Juraj Ahel, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Abalone, Common ormer, Ear shell, European edible abalone, Green ormer, Lamellated haliotis, abalone, common ormer, ear shell, green ormer, Green Ormer, lamellated haliotis, ormer, tuberculate abalone

Names in 4 more languages

German: Gemeine Abalone, Gemeines Meerohr, gemeines Seeohr, Grünes Meerohr, Meerohr
Spanish: oreja de mar
French: orcille de mer, ormeau, ormeau de Méditerranée, ormeau tuberculeux
Japanese: セイヨウトコブシ

Other scientific names: Haliotis (Haliotis) tuberculata, Haliotis adriatica, Haliotis lamellosa, Haliotis marmorata, Haliotis prisca, Haliotis speciosa

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).
2,118 open-data records from 1779 to 2024.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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