Dear ear-shell experts,

The subspecific name of the cultured abalone in Taiwan appears to be
confused in the literature, and I hope someone could help sort this
problem out for me.

The illustrated shell book by Chung-Hung Hu and Hsi-Jen Tao, 1995
described the following three: $B!! (B
Haliotis diversicolor, H. d. diversicolor, and H. d. aquatilis. These
authors indicated that H. d. diversicolor was the cultivated one.

Lo-Chai Chen (1990) Aquaculture in Taiwan, Fishing News Books, indicated
that Haliotis diversicolor aquatilis (local name Gao karn, meaning nine
holes) was the cultivated variety.

I understand that H. d. aquatilis is a temperate form and it is
distributed along the central Japan, while H. d. diversicolor is found
in the southernmost part of Japan (it is an Indo-Pacific species).
Taiwan is located in the south from Japan but the marine fauna of Taiwan
tends to show the presence of temperate species, so it is hard to judge
which subspecies might be the cultivated one.

Thank you,

Masashi Yamaguchi
Faculty of Science
University of the Ryukyus
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
http://www.cc.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/~coral/