Living nautilus embryos: preliminary observations.

Nautilus, long recognized as the most primitive living cephalopod, provides insight into molluscan evolution. Despite many attempts, embryos have not been observed until now. This report details the surface morphology and extraembryonic circulatory pattern. It was found that development, as in other extant cephalopods, is direct, without larval stages. There appears to be no embryonic protoconch associated with shell ontogeny.