Typical specimen of a Kuro awabi, the Japanese Black Abalone, from Pusan, Korea. 124mm.

Specimen in natural condition.
10m deep, by dive, off Otaru, Ishikari bay, Hokkaido, Japan. 95mm.

Above and below: little discus from Japan. 55-58-61mm.
The form or subspecies hannai Ino, 1952 has a strongly undulating surface.
Even if the validity of this taxon is not always recognized, Japanese people made the distinction,
as they named this second shell the Ezo awabi.

M. Hara & M. Sekino (Fisheries Science, vol.71(4) 2005) found significal genetic differences between
the two groups; this discovery confirms Ino's decision.

Like dark wood; two intertidal specimens from the Yellow Sea. 62-66mm, 2007; hannai ?

Three successive growths. 5-10m deep, Chiba prefecture, Honshu. 113mm, 2007.

Farmed shells often show impressive variations in color, linked to diet evolving.
Specimens from Guangxi province, SW. China. 80-92mm, 2008.

Wild specimen fished at low tide, under rock, Hino misaki (=cape), Kii Peninsula, Kansai
Honshu, Japan. 68mm.