AbalonE

ABALONE, the Spanish name used in California for various

species of the shell-fish of the Haliotidae family, with a

richly coloured shell yielding mother-of-pearl. This sort

of Haliotis is also commonly called ``ear-shell,'' and in

Guernsey ``ormer'' (Fr. ormier, for oreille de mer).

The abalone shell is found especially at Santa Barbara and

other places on the southern Californian coast, and when

polished makes a beautiful ornament. The mollusc itself is

often eaten, and dried for consumption in China and Japan.

Source: An unnamed encyclopedia from a project that puts out-of-copyright texts into the public domain.

This is from a *very* old source, and reflects the thinking of the turn of the last century.