Haliotis scalaris

Much appreciated by the collectors, the shell of the Haliotis scalaris, seen from the pearly interior, with its elegant embossed spiral and its 5-6 tubular holes that carry the water to the gills, displays all its iridescent beauty. The relatively thin shell, may be up to 12 cm long. Externally, the colour of the sculpture, mottled at times, varies from reddish to olive green once cleaned from the incrustations. This gastropod nourishes of algae on the submerged rocks, along the southern coasts of Australia and Tasmania, between 5 and 20 m of depth. When attached the foot of the mollusk contracts on the contour of the stone creating a vacuum and is almost impossible to detach it © Giuseppe Mazza