Nautilus (Allonautilus)

About the Nautilus (Allonautilus)

Only discovered in 1984 and considered the rarest cephalopod. They had not been seen for 30 years until rediscovered in 2015. They are a separate genus from the chambered nautilus. They have a distinctive grotty, hairy shell. They live at 100-500 meters depth. Very little is known about their biology. They may be critically endangered. They are found only near Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They are a living fossil lineage over 500 million years old. Their shells are increasingly rare due to deep-sea mining.