The marine gastropod genus Haliotis includes 60-70 described species distributed along the coastlines of most continents and of islands in the Pacific, Indian arid Atlantic Oceans. They occur in tropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres. Protein gel electrophoresis revealed genetic relationships among seventeen temperate species; Haliotis rubra, H. conicopora, H. laevigata, H. roei, H. scalaris, H. cyclobates, H. coccoradiata, H. midae, H. iris, H. australis, H. virginea, H. discus hannai, H. kamtschaktkana, H. rufescens, H. corrugata, H. cracherodii, and H. fulgens. Northern temperate species clustered together, but northern and southern species shared so few allelic states that they could not be united on a single genetic distance diagram. Nor did all the southern temperate species form a single cluster. In addition, genetic characters do not support previous sub-generic divisions within Haliotis. The observed genetic distances between some species were found to be large, and in some cases larger, than those normally associated with species in the same genus. These relationships provide insight into the evolutionary history and biogeography of the group and emphasize the need for taxonomic review based on both morphological and genetic information.
