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Function of cameral water in Nautilus

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Desmond Collins ,
Peter D. Ward  and
Gerd E. G. Westermann
Desmond Collins
Affiliation:
Department of Invertebrate Palaeontology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6
Peter D. Ward
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of California, Davis, California 95616, U.S.A.
Gerd E. G. Westermann
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1
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Abstract

Cameral water in the shell of the cephalopod Nautilus physically supports each septum while it is being formed; it also provides a reservoir of liquid ballast which is extracted to balance the increase in weight in seawater due to shell and tissue growth. It is not used as an aid to vertical movement. In adults, the sole function of cameral water is ballast in order to maintain Nautilus' slight weight in seawater.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 6 , Issue 2 , Spring 1980 , pp. 168 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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References

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