Talk:Nautilus

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Contents 1 plural 2 Merge? 3 Picture of animal 4 Logarithmic spiral and golden ratio 5 classical references 6 Distribution

[edit] plural

Just like octopus, this is another Latinized Greek word with more than one accepted plural (17th century Latin from Greek nautilos sailor). If there are no objections I'd hereby like to establish that nautiluses is preferred over nautili for the use in plain English articles. Femto 20:53, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Marcos of Pojoaque insists on the use of "nautili" as the plural form. Much cooler way to say it after all.

And who is he, and why should his view override the status quo? - UtherSRG (talk) 15:48, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

I must agree that "nautili" is much cooler to say. Jedi of redwall 02:26, 13 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge?

Should this be merged with Nautiloid or vice versa? Seem like they overlap considerably, but I'm no cephalopod expert. --Lexor|Talk 13:37, Nov 16, 2004 (UTC)

Ah, I think I see now, nautiloids refer to all the extinct forms of cephalopod's as well. OK, nix that.

Okay, ixnay on the autilusnay. Too funny there was that "autiluses" typo. Get it? I kill myself.

As an aside, the split between Chambered Nautilus makes sense from a classification standpoint, but it really needs a more prominent link than just those in the lists, until the other topics are expanded. Femto 16:22, 16 Nov 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Picture of animal

Would it be possible to put a picture of the actual animal on this page, in addition to the shell? Joblio 10:35, 21 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, Toytoy! Joblio 12:18, 22 May 2005 (UTC)

Can the image of a live Nautilus be placed back on this page, as well as the page for the Chambered Nautilus? The shell doesn't say much for an extant species. Ryulong 02:43, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

The previous image was deleted because of its unclear/nonfree copyright status. We have to find a new one, I second that. Femto 13:05, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia is welcome to this one I took today- comment at this page if anyone wants confirmation the picture is mine and that it is free. 82.152.176.139 19:16, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Nice. I'll post on LJ and upload it. - UtherSRG (talk) 19:39, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

Thanks, by the way. Femto 20:54, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

I hope it is not a problem if I take the same picture and put it on the species' page. Ryulong 06:29, 24 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Logarithmic spiral and golden ratio

I've added a few words on log spirals and golden ratio to the main page.

I expect the golden section bit to be critizied, so here is my answer to that criticism (a bit premature, perhaps...).

1. If you think there really are golden ratios in the shell, please explain exactly where, and verify it (for yourself) by accurate measurements on a good photograph.
2. If you think a ratio that really isn't there shouldn't be mentioned at all, let me assure you that lots of people out there know very little about the Nautilus, except for one thing: They have golden ratios in them... and I think such widespread misconceptions must be addressed.

--Niels Ø 15:06, Mar 18, 2005 (UTC)

I agree. The language has more recently been softened, and the fibonacci numbers have appeared, which is even less appropriate than the golden ratio. I'll remove that stuff. Melchoir 22:36, 19 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] classical references

Where the article says "The name originally referred to the Argonauta, otherwise called the paper nautilus, because it was alleged to use its two disk-bearing arms as sails," would it be reasonable to add (cf. Arist. H.A. 622b)? H.A. for Historia Animalium, the customary Latin title for the Greek work. Aristotle's work will most often prove to be the source of this error in pre-modern writings.

Also, Callimachus, epigram XIV, is a short dedication to Aphrodite spoken from the point of view of the nautilus shell that is dedicated. Lines 3-6 concern its movement, using the same mistaken biology of a foot-sail. Since the entire epigram is about the nautilus, it might be a nice note somewhere.

Yes, I think that would enrich the article quite a bit; I would encourage it. Keep in mind there is also an independent aricle on the Paper nautilus. --DanielCD 13:21, 8 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Distribution

I believe the distribution of the nautilus includes the Indian Ocean. I say this because I have a shell recovered off the West Coast of Australia. I also read on other encyclopaedias that it is found in the Indian Ocean. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 139.168.237.198 (talk • contribs).