NAUTILUS

Originally Posted on Land + Artscapes, 11/19/17

The beautiful curved white shell with brown linear markings can be seen adorning the selves of elegant living rooms in catalogs. It is unmistakably what once was the protective shell of Nautilus belauensis. My fascination with the creature began when my then three-year old son pointed at a small group of as they shifted below us while snorkeling near coral reefs in Castara, Tobago, in 2003. I will never forget his excitement then and glee whenever he talks about the event, even though it seems so long ago.

Nautiluses are cephalopods, creatures of the soft-bodied mollusks family with tentacles attached to their heads. They are related to octopus and squids. A nautilus moves by a system of jet propulsion.  It pulls water into the far regions of its shell through its siphon and forces it out in the opposite direction of the path it wants to take. Salt is removed as water washes over the steps of the chambers and oxygen if removed and fed into the creature’s bloodstream.

 The spiral chambers of the nautilus have inspired many an architect.

Nautilus is prized for its beautiful outer shell and pearlescent inside shell layers. It can live for as long as twenty years. However, nautilus are only reproductive after their fifteenth year. Late maturity, life span and low fecundity may be a limit to their overall numbers. For this reason nautilus have been placed on the protected species international trade list. 

Warming oceans and rising sea levels have put many coral reefs at risk. On my last visit to Bucco Reef in Tobago, there was almost no color to be seen but for the dull brown of dead or dying coral and a few parrotfish. Nautilus have been around for millions of years and fossils indicate that they have not evolved much since their beginning. I am rooting for them and hope they can withstand the currents of human error. I hope my Julian, now seventeen, will one day swim in the coral reefs of Tobago with his kids and be fortunate to see another school of nautiluses bobbing by.