Nine species of shelled cephalopods from the Indo-Pacific, the last living members of an ancient group. The coiled shell is divided into chambers, and the animal swims by jet propulsion. Often called “living fossils”, they have changed little for hundreds of millions of years.
Quick answers
What is it?Mollusc
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Night
Long thought to rise from the depths at night to feed, though some populations may not.
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inOceans
HabitatOpen ocean
ColoursWhite, Brown, Orange
SizeSmall
LengthShell 10–25 cm across
LegsNone
Covered inShell
Lives alone
Lives for15–20 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- The Indo-Pacific, on deep slopes of coral reefs, usually several hundred metres down.
- What it eats
- Scavenges and hunts: mostly crustaceans, plus lobster moults, hermit crabs and carrion of any kind.
Did you know
Barely changed for hundreds of millions of years, with up to 90 tentacles and no suckers.
A nautilus may live more than 20 years, a very long life for a cephalopod, but does not breed until about 15.
Its shell would implode at a depth of about 800 m.
Often confused with
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