Fossil Chambered Nautilus

Similar to appearance to the extinct Ammonite is the popular and well recognized Chambered Nautilus. These simple sea creatures have lived in our oceans for millions of years and are an example of what is referred to as a living fossil, as they continue to exist today, virtually unchanged. A Chambered Nautilus lives within a smooth chambered spiraled shell, which expands in a perfectly logarithmic manner as it grows. Its body is located within the last chamber with around 90 tentacles and the remainder of its anatomy protruding out. When in danger Chambered Nautilus are able to retreat into their hard shells for protection. As a Chambered Nautilus has very poor eyesight, it hunts for food by smell, feeding upon small fish, shrimp and other crustaceans. Like other cephalopods, these interesting animals have the ability to speed along the ocean floors by means of jet propulsion, using a simple yet effective pressurized water system method, and have been doing so since the Cambrian time period, some 500 million years ago.