The distinct branching patterns and stripes on the shells of three kinds of nautiluses have been used to identify them as separate species
Life 6 February 2023
Nautilus samoaensis, one of three newly identified nautilus species
Gregory J. Barord, Central Campus and Peter D. Ward, University of Washington
Three kinds of spiral-shelled nautilus have been identified as separate species, increasing the known number of nautilus species by as much as 50 per cent.
Hundreds of millions of years ago, these relatives of octopus and squid were far more diverse, with thousands of species known from fossils. But today, only about six species live on the deep slopes of coral reefs around Indonesia and parts of the western Pacific Ocean. The precise number of living nautilus species has remained unsettled …