Abalones live where the rocks are, near shore or sometimes in quite deep water, and move around on a large, muscular foot. This is the best reason I can think of for not finding them in Florida – not many rocks. I’ve never seen one here, nor are they mentioned in my seashell ID book.
They are collected to use as food and of course the shell is used for it’s ornamental value.
The Red Abalone (Haliotis rufescens) is the largest of the species growing to 12 inches (30.5cm) long. The outer shell is dark, brick red and the inside has a beautiful iridescence.
The Abalone is prone to Withering disease that causes it to eat itself which causes the muscular foot they use to hold onto rocks, to wither, which in turn causes them to fall off and eventually starve to death, unless a predator gets them first.
Probably you have heard of, or own, abalone jewelry and it comes from the large Abalone shell.
Abalones have an iridescent shell (inside) that is collected to use for making jewelry and other things. Because they are much sought after for these uses, certain species have been greatly depleted.
The single characteristic of the Abalone shell that stands out most prominently when collecting shells, would be the row of holes along one edge of the bowl shaped shell.
Many can be found along the Pacific area of North America, including the largest species, but this mollusk is also abundant around Australia and New Zealand and in western tropical areas of the Pacific.
Some common long shells found on the beaches I frequent are the pen shell, jackknife clam and stout tagelus.
Pen shells often have an iridescent shine and the ones I find are usually just pieces. An unbroken shell can be close to a foot in length.
According to my Seashell Book, there are three types of pen shell: the sawtooth, stiff and half-naked. Pretty weird names. Contrary to what you might think, the sawtooth is the smoothest looking. The other two have vertical ridges going the length of the top “fan” part of the shell.
Pen Shells
The Minor Jackknife Clam Shell
This long, whitish shell is the Minor Jackknife clam. My kids used to call it a fingernail shell. It is also a razor clam.
Jackknife clam and pen shells
The longish and wider shells shown below next to my eye glasses are stout tagelus. These are also known as “short razor” clams.
Stout tagelus clam shells
Pen shells are related to mussels which are not the prettiest of shells. I have one in my photo below along with a tagelus.
Broken Crown conch, mussel, clam, tagelus, dosinia, little shark’s eye, and tiny marsh periwinkles (one sits on top of a penny).
It’s time to sell our camper and downsize. It has me wondering about buying new vs. used. I’m all about saving money, and I could have saved a bundle buying used.
