Nature's Wild Kingdom - Paper Nautilus Argonauta Nouryi Seashell "Very rare"

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Paper Nautilus is a surface-dwelling Cephalopod (shell with chambers)mollusk(soft-bodied, legless animal that usually secretes a calciferous shell)of the genus Argonauta. They are closely related to the octopus. The paper nautilus has a rounded body, eight tentacles, and no fins. It is noted for its beautiful papery shell,that may grow up to 8 in.

The papery shell surrounds the female while she tends her eggs. The shell is actually a calcareous egg encasement that is secreted by the tips of the female's two enlarged dorsal tentacles before egg laying.After she deposits her eggs in the floating egg encasement, the female paper nautilus takes shelter in it. The female paper nautilus is often found with her head and tentacles protruding from the opening, but she retreats deeper inside if frightened.

The male paper nautilus is smaller. He does not have the enlarged dorsal tentacles but often shares the shell of a female paper nautilus. The true nautilus (genus Nautilus ) belongs to a different cephalopod group. The paper nautilus is classified in the phylum Mollusca , class Cephalopoda, order Octopoda.