First nautiloids spotted from E/V Nautilus on last dive of season!
The last ROV Hercules dive of 2024 certainly was the grand finale of the season: our Corps of Exploration witnessed four Palau nautilus individuals (Nautilus belauensis) in Palau’s German Channel! 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.
Founder Dr. Robert Ballard named OET’s ship E/V Nautilus after the famous fictional submarine from the novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Similar to the vertical movements of submarines, nautiluses are known for moving up and down in the water column. The name "nautilus" comes from the Greek word for "sailor." The individuals from this expedition were spotted at at depths between 220 to 375 meters during ROV dive H2085.
Learn more about the NA169 expedition, funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
Mapping and Water Column Exploration Offshore Palau
Following two E/V Nautilus expeditions focused on exploring the deep sea in the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, this 17-day expedition will center on surveying the oceanography and current flow around the Palauan Islands, and how this affects both near and offshore ecosystems, including those within the Palau National Marine Sanctuary.
