Haliotis rugosa pustulata Reeve, 1846

Haliotis pustulata Reeve, 1846: pl. 15, sp. 52. G.B. Sowerby (II), 1882: 28, pl. 440a, fig. 112. Lamy, 1909: 333. Kilburn, 1972: 391. Talmadge, 1974: 412. Kaicher, 1981: card 2842. Jacks, 1983: fig. 4. Muller, 1986. Cortie, 1998: 9, fig. H6. Geiger, 2000: 73, figs 14, 17–20. Geiger & Poppe, 2000: 73, pl. 17. Pickery & Verbinnen, 2004: 20, figs 1–21. Steyn & Lussi, 2005: 10, no. 6. Geiger & Owen, 2012: 113, pl. 50 (further references). Type loc.: unknown; holotype in NHM (NHMUK 1950.3.16.64).

Haliotis bistriata (non Gmelin, 1791 = H. tuberculata Linnaeus, 1758)— Barnard, 1963a: 307.

Haliotis (Sulculus) pustulata — Kilburn, 1972: 391.

Haliotis rugosa pustulata — Owen, 2013: 189, figs 3.4–6, 3.14.

Distribution. East Africa, from the Red Sea and Yemen south to central KwaZulu-Natal (Shaka’s Rock) and Madagascar (Owen 2013); living shallow subtidal and near-shore reefs. Introduced to the Mediterranean.

Notes. Although long considered a distinct species, the latest opinion (Owen 2013) is that pustulata should be considered the continental subspecies of the Mascarene H. rugosa . The similarity and possible synonymy of the two taxa was earlier noted by Herbert (1990a).