General Remarks on the Family : The argonauts or paper nautiluses (a misnamer, use of which must be
discouraged) are very abundant in tropical to warm-temeprate waters of the world. A large number of nominal
species exists, but the group needs revision to verify the species, perhaps 6 to 8 in all. The family is monotypic.
The "shell", actually in incubation chamber for the eggs, is popular among collectors because of its beauty,
coloration, sculpture and fragility. The largest species, Argonauta argo, attains a maximum size of nearly 30 cm
shell diameter; it enters fish markets in India and Japan when fortuitous oceanographic conditions cause mass
aggregations so that large numbers can be captured. Normally it is a non-schooling, solitary group.