Haliotis rufescens Swainson, 1822

Araya, Juan Francisco, 2015, Current status of the non-indigenous molluscs in Chile, with the first record of Otala punctata (Müller, 1774) (Gastropoda: Helicidae) in the country and new records for Cornu aspersum (Müller, 1774) and Deroceras laeve (Müller, 1774), Journal of Natural History 49 (29), pp. 1731-1761 : 1751-1752

Haliotis rufescens Swainson, 1822

Description

Geiger and Owen (2012).

Distribution

East coast of the Pacific Ocean from Sunset Bay, Oregon, USA, to El Rosario, Baja California, Mexico ( Mardones et al. 2013). In Chile this species is found around Caldera (27° S) and in the Región de Los Lagos (41° S to 46° S), only in aquaculture farms ( Valdovinos 1999), with the first introduction to the country in 1977 (Flores- Aguilar et al. 2007).

Possible mechanism of introduction/Status

Imported to Chile for aquaculture ( Flores-Aguilar et al. 2007).

Remarks

Herbivorous species, this species has an indirect impact on the communities of the native rocky kelp Lessonia nigrescens and Lessonia trabeculata , which are used as abalone food in the local aquaculture facilities ( Castilla et al. 2005; Flores-Aguilar et al. 2007). This species is also a primary and secondary introduction vector in Chile for the non-indigenous boring polychaete species Dipolydora huelma Sato-Okoshi and Takatsuka, 2001 ; Dodecaceria cf. opulens Gravier, 1908; Polydora rickettsi Woodwick, 1961 and Terebrasabella heterouncinata Fitzhugh and Rouse, 1999 ( Moreno et al. 2006). UA, II.