Description of Haliotis fatui new species (Gastropoda: Vetigastropoda) from the tropical western Pacific

A new abalone species from the central Indo-Pacific is described. The species has been known for almost two decades and resulted in the introduction of a nomen nudum. The name is validated here as Haliotis fatui Geiger (ex-Rehder MS). The species is described from shell, radular, epipodial, and hypobranchial gland characters. It is most similar to and occurs in part of the range (Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Marianas Islands) of the highly variable Hallotis varia Linnaeus, 1758. It differs from this latter species, however, in its shell and epipodial characters.