Help Identifying Nautilus Shell

[Vicki]

Hello.

I went to an auction and bid on a lot. Turns out there were three shells in the lot with a bunch of other miscellaneous items. A nautilus, and abalone and a MOP. I am trying to get more information on the nautilus because I know zero about them, not that I know that much more about the other two. Anyway, can somebody help me identify what I have in the photos? Most I have seen have black on them. I haven't found any without the black. I don't know if that means anything.

Thank you,

Vicki

 

[cuttlegirl]

It looks like the black may have been removed from the shell. It is either Nautilus pompilius or Nautilus belauensis. belauensis is typically larger and it looks like a large shell.

Here is an old thread. Identifying Nautilus Shells

 

[DWhatley]

Small FYI, the all white along the newest section (toward the opening where the animal was living) of the shell shows that it was an adult. Here is a link to an image showing the umbilicus difference between N. pompilius and N. macromphalus (scroll down the page and look to the right. Click on the image to get a larger display and more info. If you place your cursor on the names at the top, there is a popup that describes the umbilicus.