The chambered nautilus, sometimes called the pearly nautilus, is considered to be the most beautiful and amazing shellfish in ocean waters. Only five species are living today; however, at least two thousand fossil forms are known. They are found along the coasts of the Hawaiian Islands, several South Pacific islands, South America and India, usually at the edge of coral reefs where waters are warm. They live at depths of twenty to one thousand feet.
When one of the coiled shells of these sea animals washes ashore, it is a real prize for a shell collector if it is not severely damaged. Live nautiluses are now trapped and placed in aquariums in the United States and other places so people can see their beauty. Measuring from eight to ten inches in diameter, their coiled shells are exceptionally pretty, with alternate red and white stripes over the top and solid pearly white underneath.
The animal and its shell begin life hatching from an inch-wide egg about as long as a man’s finger. As the animal grows, its shell develops in the form of a spiral. It adds a new chamber to its shell each time it outgrows the old chamber, and each one becomes slightly larger. For the first half-dozen years, it outgrows the chambers rather rapidly, but by ten years of age, just one chamber is added per year. When reaching its life span of about twenty years, its shell will have as many as thirty chambers surrounding the original center piece, and its body will be about the size of a man’s fist.
As the chambers increase the shell’s size, the unusual creature within moves forward while a new, perfectly curved partition forms behind it. When one of these shells is carefully cut in half, the beautiful, curved mother-of-pearl walls can be seen.
The nautilus has long, finger-like tentacles on the front of its body that catch small fish, crabs and lobsters, which form its food supply. A jet propulsion system moves it either forward or backward as it catches food.
These beautiful and interesting creatures are another example of the wonders of God’s creation, as the Bible verse expresses it, “Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; Thou hast made heaven . . . the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou preservest them all” (Nehemiah 9:66Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee. (Nehemiah 9:6)).
How important it is to not only know the Lord Jesus as your Creator, but to know Him as your Saviour. Is He your Saviour?
ML-09/28/2003