Researched and written by Timothy Foley
The chambered nautilus is a cephalopod with over 90 tentacles and a protective spiral shell. It lives in Indo-Pacific oceans, scavenges carnivorously, and uses jet propulsion to move. Its shell contains chambers for buoyancy control via a ‘siphuncle’ – a tube of tissue that connects the chambers. Poor vision and slow maturation limit its reproductive window. Mating occurs in tropical waters, with females laying 10–20 eggs annually. Weighing up to 1.3kg, with a 25cm shell, it may live 15–20 years, spending days at depth and nights foraging at 80m.
