Where can the Nautilus be found?

The nautilus is a pelagic marine mollusc.

Nautiluses are found in only the Indo-Pacific, from 30° N to 30° S latitude and 90° E to 175° E longitude. They inhabit the deep slopes of coral reefs. Nautiluses usually inhabit depths of several hundred metres. It has long been believed that nautiluses rise at night to feed, mate and lay eggs, but it appears that, in at least some populations, the vertical movement patterns of these animals are far more complex.The greatest depth at which a nautilus has been sighted is 703 m (2,306 ft).

Nautiluses are sexually dimorphic, in that males have four tentacles modified into an organ, called the "spadix", which transfers sperm into the female's mantle during mating. At sexual maturity, the male shell becomes slightly larger than the female's.

The low fecundity, late maturity, long gestation period and long life-span of nautiluses suggest that these species are vulnerable to over-exploitation and demand for the ornamental shell is causing population declines. The threats from trade in these shells has led to countries such as Indonesia legally protecting the chambered nautilus with fines of up to US$8,500 and/or 5 years in prison for trading in this species.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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12 Comments

DvrDawg

As oceans go, most coral can only survive in "shallow" water. Most coral is found above 80 feet in the ocean - since the ocean's deepest point is 36,000 feet deep. So, 80 is shallow relative to the ocean.

Shulamith Lotter

I lived in Simon's Town South Africa and in early winter storms with South Easterly Winds prevailing Paper Nautilus shells would wash up on the Atlantic ocean beaches between Muizenberg and Simon's Town. The creatures inside were eagerly eaten by the seagulls and collectors would try to be on beaches early in the morning before this happened.

steven beesley

They only come up into shallow water at night, this is a deep ocean species.

Steve Tingle

Another 'living fossil' the Nautilus has been around for many millions of years, strange their close relatives who were much more common (ammonites) died out around the same time as the dinosaurs.

Chris Braid

A poorly worded question with a less than accurate answer!

Julie Allen

Luc Deschênes, Nautilus pompilius is only found in the dimly lit tropical and warm temperate waters of the Indo-Pacific region in southeast Asia and Australia. It is the most widespread of any of the nautiluses and like most of the species, it spends most of the day at depths up to 2,300 feet. At night it migrates slowly up the coral reef slopes to forage for food at about 250 feet deep.