A smallish abalone, this species does not reach the legal size for fishing in South Australia, growing to just over 10cm in length. Although often heavily eroded, this species has distinctive overlapping cords, most apparent near the edge of the shell, but does not have any obvious radial ribs or undulations, unlike Haliotis rubra. The shell is relatively flat overall, without the high spire of H. cyclobates, and it has a light mantle, often with green or dark brown banding, similar to H. scalaris, although its shell lacks the high ridge of that species.
