...found on my walk along the shore near Los Barriles about an hour ago. I spotted it's resident a few yards away before spotting the shell and had
returned it to the sea.
[Edited on 1-15-2011 by BajaNomad]goldhuntress - 1-15-2011 at 09:30 AM
It's a beautiful find.....great way to start the day!longlegsinlapaz - 1-15-2011 at 09:35 AM
Paper Nautilus are beautiful! Because they're so delicate & fragile, it never ceases to amaze me how they can make their way up onto the beach
intact! Kudos for putting it's former resident back in the ocean!Russ - 1-15-2011 at 10:15 AM
A lot of years ago I went out to Magote and there were a lot of the Paper Nautilus. I suppose there are quite a lot of people there now looking for
them.
edit: better photo
[Edited on 1-15-2011 by Russ]Russ - 1-15-2011 at 10:28 AM
Windgirl, Hope you don't mind but I enhanced your photo a bit...
These are at the very top of my want to find list.BajaBlanca - 1-15-2011 at 10:49 AM
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh that is so beautiful !!! Nature at her best.Jack Swords - 1-15-2011 at 10:58 AM
Usually a beachcomber's delight in late March early April out on the outer beaches of the Mogote and the islands. Picked up a bucket full one time.
The shell is an egg case for a little octopus and when the eggs are released it ends up on the beach. Many are broken by gulls as they sometimes
contain some eggs. I have collected some as large as 10 inches, but the increased surface area on larger ones means they break easily in the surf. I
hatched some residual eggs and under a microscope the little octopus looked like something a fish would like. Sadly, the development Paraiso del Mar
on the Mogote has greatly reduced the bird population and increased the shell collectors (besides being ugly).BajaNomad - 1-15-2011 at 11:02 AM
Only place I've seen these were the beach at Ensenada de Muerte (?), just to the north of Punta Chivato.Ken Bondy - 1-15-2011 at 11:04 AM
Beautiful pictures. Their distant relative the chambered nautilus is also very beautiful:
krafty - 1-15-2011 at 11:08 AM
wow-love these photos-thanks. Are there alot of sand dollars down south as well? I ask because perhaps 2x a year where we are you can walk the beach
and see virtually thousands of them-and the next morning they are gone24baja - 1-15-2011 at 04:10 PM
I found a papered Nautalis shell on the beach in Bahia de Los Angeles this year, very beautiful and fragile.woody with a view - 1-15-2011 at 04:15 PM
why are they called "paper?" because they are so delicate? so when the crab dies the shell gets inhabited by an octopi who lays eggs in it. why
wouldn't another crab move in, like hermit crabs who are constantly upgrading?
very cool subject. who knew BN was educational?BajaNomad - 1-15-2011 at 04:57 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by woody with a view
why are they called "paper?" because they are so delicate?
[Edited on 1-15-2011 by BajaNomad]Jack Swords - 1-15-2011 at 05:34 PM
Nothing to do with crabs...the octopus secretes (constructs) the egg case, lays the eggs, carries the egg case sometimes including a small male. When
eggs hatch, egg case is discarded to end up on the beach. Related to snails, etc. it is a mollusk.woody with a view - 1-15-2011 at 06:21 PM
i figured the octopi were just finding a place to secrete their eggs. pretty cool that they create this shell.windgrrl - 1-16-2011 at 07:01 AM
Thanks for improvement, Russ.
Krafty - occasionally, there are a few small sand dollars, sea biscuits and free-swimming octopi around the same area.nbacc - 1-16-2011 at 07:03 AM
Nature at her best!!!bajabass - 1-16-2011 at 07:55 AM
The recent winds and swell have washed a great number of shells onto the beaches out by San Juan De La Costa. My wife found one almost identical to
yours, plus several large conche shells. Made her day! She is developing a large collection used as borders around her plants out around the house.bbbob - 1-16-2011 at 08:48 AM
I found one shell about a mile south of San Nicolas, maybe 20 years ago.
A lady asked me about it, I would have given it to her had she asked, stories and fishing a long time ago.
I thought they were something washed on the beach from the trawlers.
I also thought they were mostly from the southern hemisphere.wilderone - 1-17-2011 at 10:00 AM
I found some at the southern end of Isla San Jose. Interesting to hear of where these have been found, and glad to hear they can still be found! Viva
BajaRuss - 1-17-2011 at 10:25 AM
Searched the beaches around here yesterday, the first calm morning in days, and no luck. I think it is still the early part of the season for them so
will keep searching when I'm out surf fishing.windgrrl - 1-20-2011 at 09:15 AM
Found another, smaller Argonaut in the same spot today. Very calm here also red tide present.Marc - 1-20-2011 at 08:03 PM
