Nautilus

The nautilus is a fascinating ocean creature that lives in a spiral shell. It is related to octopuses and squid but looks very different. Nautiluses have been on Earth for over 500 million years. They are sometimes called living fossils because they have barely changed.

The Spiral Shell

The nautilus shell is divided into many chambers. The animal lives in the largest, outermost chamber. As it grows, it builds a new, bigger chamber and seals off the old one. The empty chambers are filled with gas that helps the nautilus float up and down in the ocean.

Deep Sea Life

Nautiluses live in the deep ocean near coral reefs in the Pacific. They can have up to 90 tentacles for catching food. Unlike octopus tentacles, nautilus tentacles do not have suckers. They come up to shallower water at night to feed on shrimp and small fish.

Fun Facts

• Nautiluses have been on Earth for over 500 million years, long before dinosaurs.
• A nautilus can have up to 90 tentacles.
• The nautilus shell follows a perfect mathematical spiral called a logarithmic spiral.

Did You Know?

The nautilus has a very simple eye with no lens, like a pinhole camera. Despite this, it has survived for hundreds of millions of years!