The Nautilus

The nautilus in one name that is often mentioned in sci-fi and adventure franchises, with countless trade paperbacks, comic books, movies and TV series mentioning its name at one point in time.

From being the name of the submarine captained by Captain Nemo in Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to being the subject of pivotal in-story legends and myths for different stories, the name “Nautilus” is quite common, but not many are aware of what it actually is.

In modern taxonomy, the nautilus is typically used in reference to a type of mollusk, one whose current existing species haven’t changed much when compared with their prehistoric ancestors.

Defined by the whorls of their shells, there are six known living nautilus species today, with those species bearing the distinct “mathematically logical” shaped shells.

As cephalopods, nautiluses are known to have tentacles, which they use for different purposes and functions including movement and for “field sensing”. Though nautiluses can actually see, researchers note that they primarily use their sense of smell in detecting food items and/or searching for mates.

Apart from their unique physique which takes after the form of their prehistoric ancestors, the lifespan of a nautilus is quite interesting to note, with studies conducted on the species revealing that some species can live for up to 20 years, though sexual maturity is typically identified to occur when a nautilus reaches 15 years old.

As cephalopods, the nautilus is quite interesting in its overall being as a creature, with their tentacles having led countless sailors in the past in thinking of giant sea creatures from the depths of the ocean rising up to attack boats.

 Nautilus Video