Nautilus

The nautilus is a living fossil cephalopod whose basic design dates back 500 million years - predating sharks, fish, and most complex life. While its relatives evolved into squid and octopus with advanced cognition and flexible bodies, the nautilus retained its ancestral shell, simple nervous system, and primitive eyes. It represents the 'before' picture in cephalopod evolution, persisting alongside its highly evolved descendants.

The nautilus survives through energy efficiency and niche specialization rather than cognitive sophistication. Its shell provides protection and buoyancy control through gas-filled chambers. It scavenges on the deep reef slopes where competition from advanced cephalopods is reduced. The nautilus can survive on far less food than comparably sized octopuses because it doesn't maintain an expensive nervous system. Its strategy is minimum viable cephalopod - doing what cephalopods do at minimal cost.

For business, the nautilus demonstrates that ancestral business models can persist alongside evolved competitors by minimizing costs rather than maximizing capability. A basic accounting firm can coexist with AI-powered financial platforms by serving clients who need less and accepting lower margins. Legacy businesses survive not by competing on capability but by offering adequate capability at minimal cost. The nautilus can't hunt like an octopus, but it doesn't need to pay for an octopus brain. Some market positions favor cheap adequacy over expensive excellence.