Submersible stumbles upon prehistoric animal 365m deep in Pacific darkness
Marine researchers exploring deep-sea waters near Fiji captured a rare encounter with a prehistoric nautilus at a depth of 365 meters. The sighting highlights the importance of deep-sea conservation for protecting unique species in the ocean's twilight zone.
Why it matters
Rare sightings of prehistoric species provide critical data for marine biologists and underscore the need for protecting fragile deep-sea ecosystems.
Ocean researchers have shared the extraordinary moment a nautilus swam right up to their underwater vehicle to say hello.
Marine scientists were exploring Rotuma – an island around 300 miles north of Fiji – on a deep-sea submersible when something stood out to them on the seafloor around 365 metres deep. It was the iconic striped shell of a nautilus – a prehistoric mollusc that has been on the planet since before the time of the dinosaurs .
“As we approached, it seemed like the shelled creature was just as curious about us as we were about it, because it lifted up from the seafloor and started swimming its way over to us,” says Whitney Goodell , a marine ecologist at National Geographic Pristine Seas.
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