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.