In a remarkable deep-sea discovery, scientists have captured rare footage of the chambered nautilus, an ancient marine creature that existed long before the age of dinosaurs and survived their mass extinction.
The video, recorded by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the Schmidt Ocean Institute, shows multiple nautiluses gracefully gliding through the dark waters of the Coral Sea.
Researchers can be heard counting individuals in real time, with sightings reaching up to 18 animals during a single observation.
Often referred to as a “living fossil,” the chambered nautilus boasts a lineage dating back over 480 million years, around 200 million years before dinosaurs first appeared. Unlike many of its extinct relatives, such as ammonites, the nautilus has survived dramatic shifts in Earth’s climate and multiple mass extinction events.
A defining feature of the species is its iconic spiral shell, divided into gas-filled chambers. This natural design allows the animal to regulate buoyancy and move effortlessly through varying ocean depths.
Scientists say this unique adaptation has remained largely unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.
The footage was captured as part of the Visioning the Coral Sea expedition, led by Dr. Robin Beaman of James Cook University. The mission aims to map and explore remote and largely uncharted regions of the Coral Sea Marine Park, one of the world’s largest marine protected areas located off northeastern Australia.
Despite their ancient lineage, nautiluses face modern threats. Their slow growth and reproduction rates, taking up to 15 years to reach maturity, make them particularly vulnerable to overharvesting, especially for their decorative shells, which are traded globally.
Conservation agencies warn that without intervention, populations could decline rapidly.
The expedition is helping fill critical knowledge gaps about deep-sea ecosystems, including regions like the Queensland Plateau, where depths exceed 2,500 meters and remain largely unexplored.
Scientists say the new footage not only highlights the resilience of one of Earth’s oldest surviving species but also underscores the urgent need to protect fragile marine habitats before they are lost.
