Huge Nautilus from the collection

autilus 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 which display 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 make jewelry. Nautiluses are typically found in shallow waters of 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 on top, from which one can observe a soft body with large eyes and fleshy tentacles with a keratinous beak at the center, very similar to that of octopuses. Most of these tentacles are attached at the base to a kind of "sheath" from which the Nautilus can retract them in case of danger. The shell has a smooth, white surface with red-orange markings; it is also thin and smooth, and its main characteristic is the logarithmic spiral. To make this already incredible large structure even more astonishing, in some species it is mother-of-pearl, and it is composed of a series of consecutive chambers connected by a canal that links them. Through it passes a nitrogen-containing gas that aids the animal’s buoyancy through appropriate pressure adjustments. Very beautiful and increasingly rare lot, Nautilus pompilius. Size XL: 18.5 cm x 14.5 cm x 8 cm Stand not included. A very beautiful object. A necessary clarification. The final image of our photo gallery is obtained with the help of AI software. The aim is purely aesthetic but also demonstrative at the same time: it shows the real object within an artificially generated scenography. The goal is to show how precious the items up for auction are and how well they fit in different, all very refined environments. Thank you for your attention. Happy bidding.

Estimation:€275

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