Huge Nautilus from the collection. Taxidermy full body mount - Nautilus pompilius - 14.5 cm - 18.5 cm - 8 cm - CITES Appendix II - Annex B in the EU - 1

Nautilus is a genus of cephalopods, a class of mollusks that also includes octopuses, belonging to the family Nautilidae. They are considered true "living fossils", a term now obsolete used to define particular species of animals or plants still alive today, but that exhibit morpho-anatomical and structural characteristics typical of ancient organisms from millions of years ago. The animal was considered extinct following fossil finds dating to the Paleozoic and its discovery left many paleontologists and zoologists astonished. In fact, it was observed alive for the first time only in 1829, although in reality its shell was sometimes found by fishermen in the East Indies and, given its beauty and rarity, it had already been widely used in the 17th century to create jewelry. Nautiluses are typically found in shallow waters in tropical seas, mainly in the Indo-Pacific, and feed on crustaceans and mollusks. The Nautilus is equipped with a large spiral shell that can reach over 20 centimeters in diameter. The shell opening is positioned at the top and from it one can observe a soft body with large eyes and fleshy tentacles with a horny beak at the center very similar to that of octopuses. Most of these tentacles are attached at the base to a sort of "sheath" from which the Nautilus can retract them in case of danger. The shell has a smooth and white surface with red-orange markings; furthermore, it is thin and smooth and its main characteristic is the spiral conformation called "logarithmic". To make this massive structure even more incredible, which in some species is mother-of-pearl, is the fact that it is composed of a series of connected chambers with a channel that connects them. Through it passes a nitrogen gas that facilitates the animal’s buoyancy through appropriate pressure adjustments.
Very beautiful and increasingly rare, Nautilus pompilius.
Dimensions XL: 18.5cm x 14.5cm x 8cm
Stand not included.
Very beautiful item.
A precise clarification is due. The final image of our photographic gallery is obtained with the help of AI software.
The purpose is purely aesthetic but also exemplary at the same time: it shows the real object inside an artificially generated scenography.
The aim is to show how precious the objects in the auction are and how well they fit in different environments, all highly refined.
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