Nautilaus are so cool

[avalen]

My day at the zoo which was back in January, they had a big aquarium exhibit and
my favorite creature was the nautilaus, just a really odd creature. These are about
the size of a mans fist and just floating around in their tank.



I'm just gonna have to google these guys and see what part of the world they live
in and what they do and eat. I think they are so cool looking.

[Cedar518]

nice shells,.... let us know what you find out.

[avalen]

and then there were these guys....

they were in a pool for touching, they were really friendly and almost begged
to be petted, they would swim up to the edge and flap the water edge with
their "wing?" tips.

[avalen]

ok, here's the link to the nautilus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus#The_shell
basically, they are only found in the Indo-Pacific, deep slopes of coral reefs.
They eat shrimp, small fish and other crustacians, and are considered live
fossils. A very old creature.

[islandmomma]

...not meaning to be irreverent lol but I bet they taste good too, like conch...

jan

[Sparkle]

The shells are beuatiful when sliced in two.

[Carolinagal]

They're so pretty and here you guys are eating them or slicing them open, and I have never heard of them.
learned something new, thanks Ava. Do they taste good?

Carol

[avalen]

...not meaning to be irreverent lol but I bet they taste good too, like conch...

jan

I was wondering if they were tasty too

[Sparkle]

There wouldn't be that much meat on them because even though the shells are big they just live in the last little chamber, then build onto that as they grow.

[Liz]

It would be neat to see them in their natural habit, perhaps while snorkeling over that coral reef...

[bluepinecones]

I'm a fan of Victorian accessories and literature.
Small natural history collections were common in mid-1800s Victorian homes, and chambered nautilus shells were popular decorations.

The Chambered Nautilus is the title and subject of a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in which he admires the "ship of pearl" and the "silent toil/That spread his lustrous coil/Still, as the spiral grew/He left the past year's dwelling for the new." He finds in the mysterious life and death of the nautilus, strong inspiration for his own life and spiritual growth. He concludes:
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!
From wikipedia:

[dcricket]

I've always wanted to see those. I think nautilus are really interesting sea creatures too.

[Nasoosie]

Thanks for the pictures and for the quotes from Holmes's poem, which I LOVE!

I once did a report in High school on Oliver Wendell Holmes, and I think I have it stored somewhere in my 'stuff.' At the time, I had never seen a chambered nautilus, but had it pictured in my mind pretty well due to Oliver's description! We had giant snails on the beach in MA, which I envisioned as being his 'chambered life' but never did dream of anything as beautiful as the real thing.

Thanks, girls, for a beautiful vision on this snowy day in March!

[Redetotry]

Loved the pictures of the Nautilus Ava thanks so much. I'd like to go to a big aquarium.
Also thanks to Bluepinecones for the most appropriate poem to go along with the picture. I like the part of the poem that says "he left the past years dwelling for the new".