Abalone is a common name for any small to very large marine gastropod mollusc in the family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now contains only one genus, Haliotis. Other common names are ear shells, sea ears, and, now rarely, muttonfish or muttonshells in parts of Australia, ormer in the United Kingdom, perlemoen in South Africa, and pāua in New Zealand. The number of abalone species recognized worldwide ranges between 30 and 130 with over 230 species-level taxa described. The most comprehensive treatment of the family considers 56 species valid, with 18 additional subspecies.