580 
PAPER NAUTILUS. 
constantly disappointed the person by sinking to 
the bottom. 
The argonaut or paper nautilus is of a distinct 
genus from the common or chamber nautilus. This 
is a much thicker shell, and contains an animal of 
very different habits. Unlike the paper nautilus, it 
is divided into a number of chambers, each sepa- 
rated from the other by a beautiful mother of pearl 
partition, having a small hole about the size of a 
crow-quill in the upper part. Each chamber is 
filled by the body of the animal, and a communi- 
cation kept up between the head and the tail by a 
vessel which runs through the small opening in each 
partition. Thus, when the fish is removed from its 
shell, it appears like a number of small bits of flesh 
threaded together by a common membrane. 
