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Radiographic observation of chamber formation in Nautilus pompilius

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Abstract

Radiographic observation of four immature Nautilus pompilius shows that new chamber formation commences when approximately half of the cameral liquid of the last formed chamber has been osmotically removed. At this time, the septal mantle is rapidly moved forward in the body chamber, where it reattaches to the internal shell wall and begins calcification of a new septum. Throughout this time, apertural shell growth rates remain constant. The time between successive chamber initiations increased during ontogeny; in the four specimens monitored here, time between two successive chamber formation events ranged between 85 and 132 days and showed no apparent lunar correlation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, California, 95616, USA

    Peter D. Ward

  2. Department of Geology, Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, 11210, USA

    John Chamberlain

  3. Osborn Laboratories of Marine Sciences, New York Aquarium, New York Zoological Society, Brooklyn, New York, 11224, USA

    John Chamberlain

Authors
  1. Peter D. Ward
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  2. John Chamberlain
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Ward, P., Chamberlain, J. Radiographic observation of chamber formation in Nautilus pompilius. Nature 304, 57–59 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1038/304057a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/304057a0

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