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Animal profile

Red Abalone

Haliotis rufescens

GastropodaRocky subtidal reefs with kelp, from the low intertidal to about forty metresCritically Endangered

Field profile

The red abalone is the largest abalone species, with an ear-shaped shell that can exceed twenty-five centimetres. It clings to rock with a broad muscular foot and feeds mainly on drifting kelp. Its inner shell is lined with iridescent nacre.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2026-05-24

Red Abalone

Abalone nacre outperforms its own brittle mineral

Mother-of-pearl is about ninety-five per cent calcium carbonate, a brittle mineral, yet abalone nacre resists fracture far better than the same mineral in bulk. The gain comes from architecture: microscopic plates stacked like bricks in a thin organic mortar.

Read with evidence →

Red Abalone | Daily Animal Facts