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Chambered Nautilus (Nautilus pompilius)
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Description: The chambered nautilus lives in tropical waters extending from the Andaman Sea east to Fiji & from southern Japan to the Great Barrier Reef. This animal usually lives where the slopes of coral reefs descend into deep waters. During the day, it resides in dark cool waters at depths from 900 - 2,000 feet & ascends to shallower waters (300 - 500 feet deep) at night to feed. Chocolatey-brown zebra stripes adorn the nautilus's smooth, white shell. It expands its living space as it grows, adding internal chambers in a perfect logarithmic spiral coated in mother of pearl. The body is situated in the last chamber & about 90 slim tentacles & a large eye peer out. The tentacles, which bear little anatomical resemblance to the s*ckered tentacles of squid, function mainly in smelling & manipulating food. When imperiled by predators, the nautilus withdraws into its armor & seals the door with a tough, leathery hood. At night, nautiluses ascend to shallower waters to scavenge for hermit crabs, fish & the exoskeletons of molting crustaceans. They locate food by smelling the ocean currents for traces of dead or dying prey. Nautiluses reproduce annually once they've reached reproductive maturity. The female deposits about a dozen eggs, one at a time or in small groups throughout the year. The eggs measure more than an inch in length, making them among the largest of invertebrate eggs. They have an exceptionally long incubation time, ranging from 9 months to over a year. No one has ever seen nautilus eggs in the wild so little is known about the environment in which they are laid. The nautilus has an unusually long life span for a cephalopod. It takes several years to reach reproductive maturity & may live more than 15 years.
Uploaded By: femcat38
Date: 1/18/2012
Views: 496
File Size: 63 KB
