The Chambered nautilus has only primitive eyes without any cornea or lens. It is thought that it relies primarily on its sense of smell to detect prey, and on its sense of touch to detect obstacles in the water. It eats small crustaceans and fish and also scavenges on dead animals. Its many-chambered shell—as many as 30—is the secret of its ability to stay upright and control its buoyancy, which is does by releasing gas through a tube that runs through the center of the chambers.
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The Pacific Ocean covers one-third of earth’s surface and contains nearly half of the planet’s water. The following slideshow features a selection of images from a new book, Big Pacific, published this week that captures the varied and unique environments and inhabitants of the Pacific Ocean—from maco sharks and underwater iguanas, to glowing squid and poisonous lionfish. A 5-part series by the same name airs on PBS beginning this week.
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