Nautilus macromphalus: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the nautilus macromphalus lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Nautilus macromphalus
Group	Octopuses, squid & cuttlefish
Found in	1 country
Continents	Oceania
Class	Cephalopod
Order	Nautilida
Family	Nautilidae

Where does the nautilus macromphalus live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the nautilus macromphalus in 1 country or territory across Oceania. Wikidata lists it as endemic to New Caledonia.

New Caledonia

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the nautilus macromphalus?

The nautilus macromphalus (Nautilus macromphalus) is a cephalopod in the order Nautilida and the family Nautilidae, genus Nautilus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the nautilus macromphalus

Nautilus macromphalus, the bellybutton nautilus, is a species of nautilus native to the waters off New Caledonia and northeastern Australia. The shell of this species lacks a callus, leaving the umbilicus exposed, in which the inner coils of the shell are visible. This opening constitutes about 15% of the shell diameter at its widest point.

Like all Nautilus species, N. macromphalus usually lives at depths of several hundred metres. During the night, however, they rise to much shallower waters (2 to 20 m depth) to feed.

The tentacles of this species are long and thin, having raised ridges which help provide grip when catching prey. N. macromphalus is the smallest species of nautilus. The shell is usually up to around 16 cm in diameter, although the largest specimen ever recorded measured 180 mm.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Nautilus macromphalus (revision 1369874143), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q940450 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).