Rare nautilus sighted for the first time since 1984

August 26, 2015 6:23 PM

Rare nautilus sighted for the first time in three decades

The creature in question is Allonautilus scrobiculatus, a species of nautilus that Ward and a colleague had previously discovered off of Ndrova Island in Papua New Guinea. Nautiluses are small, distant cousins of squid and cuttlefish. They are an ancient lineage of animal, often christened a "living fossil" because their distinctive shells appear in the fossil record over an impressive 500 million year period. Ward says this recent sighting of Allonautilus indicates that there is still much to learn about these creatures.

"Before this, two humans had seen Allonautilus scrobiculatus," said Ward, who holds appointments at the University of Washington in both the Department of Biology and the Department of Earth and Space Sciences. "My colleague Bruce Saunders from Bryn Mawr College found Allonautilus first, and I saw them a few weeks later."

Those sightings were in 1984, when Ronald Reagan was finishing his first term as president and the oldest millennials were starting preschool. Ward and Saunders collected several Allonautilus scrobiculatus specimens for analysis and realized that their gills, jaws, shell shape and male reproductive structures differ significantly from other nautilus species.

Previously on Metafilter:
- The Nautilus and her Corps of Exploration are mapping and exploring ocean features from the Gulf Coast up to British Columbia. Yesterday, they found a whale. You can watch live to see what they find next!
- Introducing the Nautilus-X MMSEV, a manned deep space craft proposed by a team at NASA's Johnson Space Centre.
- Office Inspired by 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Like squid? What about the good ol' octopus? The cuttlefish and nautilus? If you answered yes to these questions Dr. James B. Wood's Cephalopod Page is your go-to site, with information on and pictures of 25+ species of cephalopods including the aptly named (I'm sure) vampire squid from hell. The site also hosts many articles. Not sure where you stand on the coolness of cephalopods? Why don't you start by watching this video of an octopus squeezing through a one inch hole (previously on MetaFilter).

posted by argonauta (16 comments total)

Very cool!
posted by persona au gratin at 6:44 PM on August 26, 2015

Nice.
posted by The Whelk at 6:44 PM on August 26, 2015 [5 favorites]

Not sure where you stand on the coolness of cephalopods? Do we let that sort of cretin on Metafilter?
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 6:48 PM on August 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

Science articles are such a rush of emotion: for the first half, the majesty and complexity of our planet is exhilarating; then, in the second half, the article crushes any joy by explaining how the very cool thing is dying and we're all to blame.
posted by missmary6 at 6:59 PM on August 26, 2015 [11 favorites]

aye aye aye nautilii
say it with me!

aye aye aye nautilii
say it with me!

nautilus shells and the golden ratio (nautilii & phi)
posted by lalochezia at 7:19 PM on August 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

they rise
posted by Earthtopus at 7:35 PM on August 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

Pretty darn awesome!
posted by anya32 at 7:44 PM on August 26, 2015

I clicked these comments after reading the article about desnudas and I was very confused.
posted by neil pierce at 8:04 PM on August 26, 2015 [3 favorites]

Nice.
posted by The Whelk

You would say that.
posted by sneebler at 8:24 PM on August 26, 2015 [4 favorites]

You would say that.
posted by sneebler

You would say that.
posted by So You're Saying These Are Pants? at 9:12 PM on August 26, 2015 [2 favorites]

Nice post argonauta.
Nautilus shells are big business. The U.S. imports more than 100,000 of the iconic mollusk shells every year, according to a recent study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
posted by unliteral at 9:21 PM on August 26, 2015 [1 favorite]

“For the next two hours, the sunfish just kept whacking them with its tail,” said Ward.

So it's a Trump supporter?
posted by blue_beetle at 9:21 PM on August 26, 2015

I think that last link is escaping from its tank.
posted by Segundus at 4:30 AM on August 27, 2015

I'm not going to read the whole article because I don't want to ruin my elation from hearing that we spotted one for the first time in almost my entire lifetime. That factoid alone makes me so happy. Thanks for sharing. (Preemptive . for the probably inevitable.)
posted by staccato signals of constant information at 6:26 AM on August 27, 2015

This is exciting and yet sobering news. The reason we are seeing so many rare and bizarre creatures from the sea is because the ocean environment is changing rapidly.
posted by agregoli at 7:26 AM on August 27, 2015

Also your dad got that bowflex from the mid-90s out of his basement.
posted by klangklangston at 9:47 AM on August 27, 2015