Another object on display in the museum. Who do these beautiful golden scales belong to?

Object of the week

Did you know what last week’s object of the week was?

Pearly Nautilus cut open to show the chambers inside the shell

The Pearly Nautilus (genus Nautilus)  is a marine mollusc that lives far out in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. They can dive to depths of several hundred metres and are never normally seen near the surface.

Nautiluses have been around for about 500 million years and have changed very little. They feed on crabs and fish which they catch with their strong tentacles but will also eat any any dead animals they find. By altering the concentration of salt in their blood they can draw water in and out of the chambers in their shell and so alter their depth in the water.