Relevant Synonyms Haliotis jousseaumi Mabille, 1888 Haliotis pustulata Reeve, 1846 Misidentification Haliotis scutulum Reeve, 1846  drawing: Tuvia Kurz

SHORT DESCRIPTION Shell elongated-ovate, very flattened, loosely coiled, with a spiral series of 5-6 open holes, then the marks of former holes along the spire. Margin straight or gently convex on the right side (shell seen from above), definitely convex on the left side. Sculpture of irregular, unequal, flattened spiral cords, of which some are more prominent and bear regularly spaced knobs. On the living animal, epipodium with dorsally and ventrally closely packed finger structures, with thick fingers. These bundles are separated by spaces lacking such structures. From within these bundles a few longer tentacles emerge. Large, isolated tentacles appear in the middle of the epipodium which, however, are not surrounded by hand-shaped projections (Geiger, 1996). color : shell brownish to greenish with irregular mottles outside, whitish to brownish along a ridge bordering the aperture, nacreous inside. common size : 30 mm. DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The outer surface of the shell has nodose cords, whereas in the native Haliotis tuberculata lamellosa Lamarck, 1822, spirals are wrinkled or folded, but never with discrete knobs. The latter also has a more continuous fringe of tentacles along the epipodium. BIOLOGY / ECOLOGY All species of Haliotis are grazers on encrusting algae on the surface of rocks. They have separate sexes and lay small eggs which are fertilized externally in the water. The larvae spend a short time in a free swimming stage, then settle on the bottom. habitat : under rocks in shallow water; intertidally in the Indian Ocean.

1st Mediterranean record Israel, 1971 [no collecting date]. DISTRIBUTION Worldwide: Red Sea; the nominal subspecies H. pustulata pustulata Reeve, 1846 is reported from northern South Africa to the Persian Gulf. Mediterranean: recorded from Israel (Talmadge, 1971) and Tobruk, Libya (Giannuzzi-Savelli et al., 1994). ESTABLISHMENT SUCCESS Uncertain, possibly underscored due to overall similarity with the native species. speculated reasons for success : - MODE OF INTRODUCTION Possibly via the Suez Canal. IMPORTANCE TO HUMANS None.

KEY REFERENCES Barash A. and Danin Z., 1973. The Indo-Pacific species of Mollusca in the Mediterranean and notes on a collection from the Suez Canal. Israel Journal of Zoology, 21(3-4): 301-374 [Haliotis pustulata p. 303, Fig. 1]. Fainzilber N., 1984. A Red Sea Haliotis from Akjziv. Levantina, 49: 569-570. Geiger D., 1996. Haliotids in the Red Sea, with neotype designation for Haliotis unilateralis Lamarck, 1822 (Gastropoda, Prosobranchia). Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 103(2): 339-354.   Giannuzzi-Savelli R., Pusateri F., Palmeri A. and Ebreo C., 1994. Atlante delle conchiglie marine del mediterraneo. Vol. 1., 125p. La Conchiglia, Roma. Talmadge R.R., 1971. Notes on Israeli Haliotids (Mollusca, Gastropoda). Argamon, 2(3-4): 81-85. FEEDBACK / COMMENTS TO AUTHORS

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