Nautilus

Nautilus
Nautilus pompilius
Max. size: 20 cm

 

Geographical distribution:
Indo-Pacific.

 

Biology:
Captain Nemo named his submarine ‘The Nautilus’ but the nautilus was originally a strange mollusc that inhabited the early seas.
Like the cuttlefish, squid and octopus, it is a cephalopod mollusc (its feet are on its head) but, unlike the others, it is the only one whose body is protected by a shell.  The nautilus can migrate from the surface to a depth of 400 metres using the compartments of its shell, which it fills with water to descend and with air to rise.
Its 90 tentacles help it to capture small fish and crustaceans and to have a sensory function.  The male has a larger tentacle: the spadix, which it uses during reproduction.  The male and female embrace each other with their tentacles while the male introduces its semen into the female’s body with its spadix.  The female nautilus lays a maximum of a dozen eggs.
Like other cephalopods, it uses jet propulsion to swim, ejecting a powerful stream of water through its siphon.

 

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