Ventilation and Oxygen Extraction by Nautilus

Abstract

Because of the shell, Nautilus cannot ventilate in the same manner as other cephalopods, which use the mantle musculature to drive the respiratory stream. In Nautilus, the respiratory stream is propelled by the funnel and its associated structures, aided at times by contraction and extension of the head retractor muscles. The account that follows shows how these structures generate the ventilatory flow. It is based largely on experiments and observations made by the author during a visit to the Motupore Island Research Department of the University of Papua New Guinea during February to May 1984. A more detailed report is given in Wells and Wells (1985).