During a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive in the German Channel in Palau, the Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) witnessed four Palau nautilus individuals (Nautilus belauensis). These are the first sightings of nautiloids — the most primitive cephalopods — from E/V Nautilus after 1000+ ROV dives over the last 15 years of operations. This marine mollusk found in the Indo-Pacific is rarely photographed- let alone caught on video -and 2024’s expeditions represent the first of OET’s adventures within the nautilus’s expected distribution range. This expedition (NA169) was funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
“In addition to the obvious milestone of seeing a nautilus while onboard the eponymous Nautilus, it was also surreal to encounter an animal whose body plan and behaviors have barely changed since the age of the dinosaurs,” says Samantha Wishnak, Expedition Leader and Operations Coordinator at OET.