This is a small paua, which has a thin finely sculptured shell. It has a small spire with 2-3 whorls. The sculpturing is made of dense spiral lines that may be crossed by small radial folds. The shells are not usually encrusted. The exterior of the shell is light reddish brown with greenish stripes. The interior of the shell has a brilliant irridescence which is predominantly red or green. The animal is pale with a white foot.

It is nocturnal and inhabits the under-side of boulders and crevices. It is the deepest living pāua (depths of 30 m) and is rarely found intertidally.

Graze on algae on the rocks and drift seaweed.

This is the least common species of abalone found in New Zealand but the most widely distributed. It is too small and rare to be readily collected.
Considered too small to be harvested, but some exploitation in the Subantarctic Islands occurs.

NZ Coastal Marine Invertebrates; Vol 1