Common paper nautilus

About this species

Argonauta argo, also known as the greater argonaut, is a species of pelagic octopus belonging to the genus Argonauta. In some parts of Guangdong, China, this species is locally known as “白海马巢” While the name literally translates as "white sea-horse's nest", the term "sea-horse" in regional Sinitic languages actually refers to sand crabs rather than the animal commonly known as a seahorse, and bears no relation to horses. In Taizhou, local elderly speakers refer to its shell as "sea-horse shell", while the soft body is called "octopus".

Text from the Wikipedia article “Argonauta argo”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 34 records
February: 43 records
March: 44 records
April: 73 records
May: 68 records
June: 62 records
July: 50 records
August: 38 records
September: 52 records
October: 52 records
November: 28 records
December: 31 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 20–1,280 m · Deepest record: 4,935 m

0–10 m: 3 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 14 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 16 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 2 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 4 records
110+ m: 31 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 10–29 °C

10–12 °C: 9 records
12–14 °C: 7 records
14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 22 records
18–20 °C: 18 records
20–22 °C: 21 records
22–24 °C: 21 records
24–26 °C: 18 records
26–28 °C: 42 records
28–30 °C: 7 records

Photos

(c) Bryce Watts-Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Eridan Xharahi, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Marisa, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Saryu Mae 前朝琉, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Josiah Londerée, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bryce Watts-Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Obed Palagot Echavarria, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Common paper nautilus, Greater Argonaut, Paper nautilus, common paper nautilus, Common Paper Nautilus, Greater Paper Nautilus, Pacific Argonaut, paper nautilus, Paper Nautilus

Names in 7 more languages

German: Großes Papierboot, Papierboot
Spanish: argonauta, Gran argonauta del Pacífico
French: argonaute voilier
Japanese: アオイガイ, カイダコ, 葵貝, 貝蛸
Korean: 조개낙지
Thai: หอยงวงช้างกระดาษใหญ่
Simplified Chinese: 太平洋船蛸, 扁船蛸, 船蛸

Other scientific names: Argonauta bulleri, Argonauta compressus, Argonauta corrugata, Argonauta corrugatus, Argonauta cygnus, Argonauta dispar, Argonauta ferussaci, Argonauta grandiformis, Argonauta haustrum, Argonauta minor, Argonauta monterosatoi, Argonauta naviformis, Argonauta pacifica, Argonauta pacificus, Argonauta papyraceus, Argonauta papyria, Argonauta papyrius, Argonauta sebae, Argonauta sulcatus, Ocythoe antiquorum, Ocythoe argonautae

Similar species

Brown Argonaut
Argonauta hians

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
459 open-data records from 1882 to 2022.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.