Chambered nautilus
Nautilus pompilius
- Scientific name
- Nautilus pompilius
- Group
- Cephalopods
- Rarity
- Epic
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Not evaluated
Did you know?
The nautilus is one of the last living members of a group that predates the dinosaurs, and it controls its buoyancy by adjusting gas levels in its shell's chambered compartments. It's now threatened by harvesting for the mother-of-pearl shell trade.
What defines this group — Cephalopods
Octopuses, cuttlefish, squid and nautiluses: molluscs that became the most intelligent invertebrates.
- Eight arms — ten in cuttlefish and squid — set around a horny beak.
- Skin cells called chromatophores change colour and texture in a fraction of a second.
- Three hearts, and blue blood that carries oxygen with copper rather than iron.