Haliotis elegans

Elegant abalone
Haliotis elegans
Haliotis elegans

Distribution

Localised


Description

Smallish abalone with numerous distinctive spiral ridges and a more elongate shell than other local species. It is extremely cryptic, dwelling in caves and under rock slabs, mainly on limestone reefs, and is one of the rarer abalone species.


Information

Max Size: N/A cm

Sea Temperature Range: N/A

Depth: 4-33m

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Occurrence: Rare (0.4% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney