Three New Nautilus Species!

Exciting news in the world of mollusks, with the recent description (the research article was published yesterday, January 25, 2023) by Gregory J. Barord and his collaborators of three new species of Nautilus.

The three species occur respectively off American Samoa (Nautilus samoaensis), Fiji (N. vitiensis), and Vanuatu (N. vanuatuensis), all in the Southwest Pacific Ocean. The authors used contemporary techniques to define the new species, including evidence from shell and body anatomy, all validated by genetic information.

The map (from the original research article) shows the distribution of all known living species of Nautilus. The article may be downloaded here.