Today, we will betalking about the nautilus, a type of animal that is related to the squid,octopus, and cuttlefish. It is pelagic, meaning that it doesn't live near thebottom of the ocean nor is it near the shore. It’s name comes from AncientGreek, from a word that means “sailor”. It is a type of cephalopod, which means“head foot”. This is because nautiluses, along with squids, octopuses, andcuttlefish have their tentacles, or feet, attached to their heads.

First, let’s talkabout what the nautilus looks like. They are characterized by their largeshells, which are curled like a garden snail’s shell. Unlike a snail’s shell,however, the nautilus’ shell is divided into chambers, starting with around 4or 5 chambers when it is born, and gradually increasing to around 30. Thismostly white shell has reddish-orange “tiger stripes” on it. It is the onlycephalopod with a fully-formed shell. Unlike similar species, it has veryprimitive or undeveloped eyes, meaning it cannot see very well. It has more than90 suckerless tentacles. These tentacles have grooves and ridges on them thathelp them grip onto prey and take it to their beak.

The inner chambersof the nautilus’ shell are usually filled with air, which helps the nautilus toremain buoyant, or floating. However, it can add water to these chambers,letting it sink, or take water out, letting it float again.

Nautilusesprimarily use their sense of smell to locate food. An adult nautilus will eatcrabs, fish, and shrimp, and will also scavenge for dead animals. Newly hatchednautiluses will eat small shrimp and other small organisms.

For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.