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| Abalone |
An abalone is a kind of sea snail useful for its meat and colorful
shell.
It is a kind of sea snail that can be found living in most mild
seas. In many places
abalones are known as “ear shells” because their single flattened shell
somewhat resembles a human ear.
The abalone spends most of its life clinging to submerged rocks
with its flat muscular foot. It can fasten itself to a rock so tightly
that only a knife can pry it loose.
It feeds on the plants that it can scrape off the rocks with its
rasp like tongue. Its hard shell, which may grow from a few inches to
nearly a foot long, protects the abalone’s soft body.
Abalone steak, the snail’s large foot, is a popular seafood dish
in many countries. The pearly inner lining of the shell, called “mother-of-pearl,” is
used in making buttons and other ornaments. The abalone builds its shell out of lime from the water. The
shell grows as the abalone grows. - Dick Rogers
