Ear Shell (haliotis), a marine gasteropod mollusk, so called from its resemblance in shape to an ear. The spire is small and flat, the aperture large and without operculum, and the interior pearly and iridescent; the exterior is dull, of a brownish or mottled color. The outer angle is perforated by a series of holes, growing smaller toward the spire, where they are closed, forming tubercles; these are the openings for the respiratory currents, and also for the passage of tentacles. The genus includes about 75 living species, and a few have been found fossil in the middle tertiary epoch; they are met with in the temperate and tropical seas the world over, and are used in Japan and in the Channel islands for food, being made tender by beating. The common species (H. tuberculata) is often called the ormer. Some of the species are 6 to 8 in. long and 5 or 6 wide. They are used for inlaying and other ornamental purposes, and also for decorating houses, fixed in the plastered wall. They are usually found in deep water, and are obtained at low tide, adhering very firmly to rocks by means of the large foot, like the limpet.