This cephalopod looks like an octopus but has a large beautiful shell like a snail. They are thought to have remained almost unchanged for 400 million years and represent the last survivors of a group that in past geological eras was very abundant. The endemic species found in Palau is called Nautilus Belauensis and lives in very deep water, below 800 feet.
NECO Marine sets a basket style trap overnight at around 800 feet with chicken inside! Yes, chicken!
The next morning, after they have this unusual feast, we go and pull the cage up to around 60 feet, and the show can start!
This week when we organized a Nautilus Dive, our 10 divers were very lucky because we got 10 nautilus! So one for everyone to interact with and photograph them as much as they wanted! It is one of the few opportunities that an underwater photographer has to photograph this animal alive.
Don’t worry this activity doesn’t harm the Nautilus since its shell adjusts to the changing depth and water temperature while raised up. We release them during the dive, so they slowly return to the depths they prefer.
The shell, which can reach a diameter of up to 226mm sometimes, has its perfect buoyancy! Like a submarine, the many small chambers within its shell, allows it to defy gravity by changing the amount of gas in the empty chambers, thus making itself lighter and allowing the small water jet near their tentacles to work more efficiently. The masters of buoyancy, every divers dream.
Its beauty doesn´t stop in its exterior appearance, its inner beauty has been the inspiration of so many architects and decorators fascinated by the perfection of the curves of its spiral.
Neco Marine 