Nautilus, Allonautilus Live Deeper Than Extinct Kin
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- Nautilus and its sister genus Allonautilus have persisted for over 500 million years, earning them the “living fossil” label.
- UW‑led team documented that current Nautilus and Allonautilus species inhabit deeper waters than their extinct relatives, using acoustic telemetry and stable oxygen isotope analyses.
- Juvenile individuals of both genera occupy depths roughly twice as great as fully mature adults, overturning the assumption that depth is constant across life stages.
- Allonautilus populations were identified off New Britain, thriving under hunting restrictions informed by the team’s research.
- Some Nautilus species still perform daily vertical migrations of hundreds of meters at dawn and dusk, but most species show more modest depth changes.
- Researchers found that both Nautilus and Allonautilus are scavengers that never cease moving, relying on limited nutrients in the mesophotic zone.
Why it matters: Marine conservationists gain concrete evidence to justify stricter hunting limits, while fisheries may face tighter regulations. The depth‑stratification data reshape ecological models of mesophotic cephalopods, prompting revisions to habitat protection plans and informing future biodiversity assessments. These findings also highlight the importance of protected marine zones for sustaining ancient lineages.
