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paper nautilus - argonaut | Category: Fishing Talk

itsaboat 4 years ago
#7045

I have now been in Lake Bunga for a few days. Got a chance to fish today only to find a large school of baby Aussie salmon...not even worth taking a pic, let alone putting a T-Shirt on for the event Oh, well tomorrow is another day.

However, yesterday I found this on the beach...a paper nautilus. wow ho

When I found it I had no idea what it was. But I knew I had found something special. Then coming off the beach I met an old bloke that knows all about the paper nautilus.

To find a whole one in almost perfect condition like this, is really a once in a life time find...and even then you would be lucky. The old bloke said it would be worth about $75 to a shell collector. But Google (Google knows everything) puts it at about $200...I am going to keep it !!

These things are seriously delicate. Just ridiculously fragile. I am not sure of the exact kind of nautilus it is, but the common name is paper. That is because the shell is almost paper thin.

The old bloke said there is an octopus that steals the shell to live in. But the octopus is good food for many fish...so the shell get destroyed by the fish to expose the octopus. On the very slim chance that the octopus out grows the shell, the shell will be smashed on the sea floor. In short it is almost impossible to find a whole nautilus shell.

So, the odds ?? Well I am told if I walked the beach every single day, I might if I am lucky find a piece of a nautilus shell large enough to actually identify it once every 7 years.

This one measures about 7 inches from front to tail.





itsaboat mate...Life is just a boat and then ya marry one !
dazzling79 4 years ago
#7046

A very fine piece of shell. I should look for these from now on A lucky day for you. Better experience than catching baby AU Salmon.

itsaboat 4 years ago
#7047

Further research...It it an argonaut. This one I have found appears to be Argonauta Nodosus.

The old bloke was not quite right but not wrong either. In the past it was believed that the octopus found the shell to live in. But research in the early 1900's proved that the octopus actually makes the shell.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonaut_(animal)

The Argonauta Nodosus is typically about 150mm. This one is 140mm. So it would be considered quite large and given the almost perfect condition it would be at the top end of the value scale. In "exceptional" cases it can reach 250mm and the largest ever found is 292mm - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauta_nodosa

itsaboat mate...Life is just a boat and then ya marry one !
Fae Hime Blossom 4 years ago
#7048

that's a really lucky find! Thanks for posting the information, and linking to the wiki. I appreciate such informative content

itsaboat 2 years ago
#7835

After a long journey of well over 2 years (almost 3)...the nautilus is finally in a proper display cabinet

After finding it, it traveled in my ugg boot for about 3000km. A special little spot in the car, to keep it safe !! Then another 2000km in a special foam filled container...

Not the best of pics (it is not easy taking a pic side on to a mirror !!)...But she is finally on display

itsaboat mate...Life is just a boat and then ya marry one !