World’s rarest creature sighted off PNG

NDROVA ISLAND– It might be the rarest animal in the world, according to Peter Ward, a biologist at the University of Washington who this July came across the Allonautilus scrobiculatus species of nautilus in the waters off Papua New Guinea.

The scientist says it might be the “rarest animal in the world,” and he’s just seen it in the South Pacific – three decades after his first sighting.

The University of Washington wildlife researcher Peter Ward is undetaking a study of marine biodiversity around Papua New Guinea.

Together with his colleagues, he suspended fish and chicken meat on a pole and sunk the bait in a zone ranging from 150 to 400 metres below surface, hoping to attract any nautiluses in the area.

What Ward and fellow ocean explorers didn’t expect was to catch a glimpse of an elusive creature that was last seen about 30 years ago.

The lures got the attention of regular ocean scangers, but also proved to be of interest to an extremely rare slimy nautilus belonging to a species dubbed Allonautilus scrobiculatus.

This nautilus species was first documented in 1984, also in the waters off the northern coast of Papua New Guinea.

It was sighted just once again in 1986 and then disappeared without a trace until this year’s sighting in July.

The Allonautilus scrobiculatus specimen caught on film was documented of Ndrova Island, in the Manus Province, off Papua New Guinea’s northern coast, together with other regular nautiluses.

The creature is incredibly rare. In fact, the wildlife researcher suspects it only populates the waters around Papua New Guinea and that, because of pollution, it is now in danger of going extinct.

“It’s only near this tiny island,” said Ward.

What distinguishes Allonautilus scrobiculatus from its siblings is the appearance of its shell.

“It has this thick, hairy, slimy covering on its shell. When we first saw that, we were astounded,” Ward explained.

Nautiluses have been around for many millennia and the anatomy of modern specimens is not very different to that of their ancient ancestors. Fossil evidence indicates the shape of their shell is about 500 million years old.

Because they like to keep to themselves and live in the deep ocean, nautiluses are not easy to find and study.

All researchers know is that they are related to squid and cuttlefish, that they can only survive at very precise depths and temperatures, and that they are expert scavengers.