The red abalone, Haliotis rufescens, is a species of very large edible sea snail in the family Haliotidae, the abalones, ormer shells or paua. It is distributed from British Columbia, Canada, to Baja California, Mexico. It is most common in the southern half of its range. Red abalone is the largest and most common abalone found in the northern part of the state of California, and it is the only species of abalone still legally harvested there, though on a restricted basis.