According to reports, a rare mollusc has been found off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Earlier, it was thought that it had gone extinct. Biologist Peter Ward, after coming back from the South Pacific in August, told that he spotted the rarest animal in the world.

The University of Washington professor was member of the discovery team that initially found Allonautilus scrobiculatus, a fuzzy and slimy mollusc with a whirled shell, which is also described as the crusty nautilus. It was found nearly 31 years ago for the first time.

This summer, Mr. Ward came back to the area with his colleagues. They feared that the 'living fossil' had probably gone extinct as a result of environmental changes and shell hunting. Mr. Ward was delighted to see the rare mollusc once again. He said in an interview that such finding could become even rarer in case when illegal fishing practices are not stopped.

As per reports, the research team reached between 500 and 1,300 feet under the sea surface with the information that nautiluses are good scavengers. They captured the action on camera around the bait in 12 hour increments.

The nautilus was spotted on the biologists' screen this July. Before this, It was seen since 1986.

According to Ward, "We not only found them, we captured the first digital images of them alive in the wild, and attached tracking devices that are revealing some of the oldest and deepest secrets of their survival".