Nautilus pompilius

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FUN FACTS
Nautiluses are related to octopi, squid and mollusks. However, unlike their close relatives, nautiluses lack an ink gland, have very poor eye sight, an external shell and can reproduce more than once in their lifetime.  Nautiluses can have as many as 100 tentacles. These tentacles lack the suction cups common on other cephalopods’ tentacles and instead use ridges to grip.

CONSERVATION
The nautilus has a soft body with no internal skeleton. A hard external shell protects the nautilus. The large size and vibrant coloration of the shell makes the emperor nautilus a common victim in the shell trade. A nautilus cannot live if separated from its shell.