The Nautilus is a peer-reviewed

Peer review

Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...

 scientific journal

Scientific journal

In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. There are thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many more have been published at various points in the past...

 covering research in malacology

Malacology

Malacology is the branch of invertebrate zoology which deals with the study of the Mollusca , the second-largest phylum of animals in terms of described species after the arthropods. Mollusks include snails and slugs, clams, octopus and squid, and numerous other kinds, many of which have shells...

. Hence its scope includes all aspects of the biology, ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, and systematics of mollusks.

The first two volumes were published by shell trader William D. Averell (1853-1928) under the name The Conchologists’ Exchange. From 1958 to 1972, the subtitle of The Nautilus was "The Pilsbry Quarterly devoted to the Interests of Conchologists".

Since 1999, its publication is partly sponsored by Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

's Division of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

 since 2002.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed by Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts

Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts

Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts is an abstracting and indexing service covering aquatic science and its subfields. It is maintained by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...

, Biological Abstracts

Biological Abstracts

Biological Abstracts is a database produced by Thomson Reuters through its subsidiary BIOSIS. It includes abstracts from peer-reviewed academic journal articles in the fields of biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, pre-clinical and experimental medicine, pharmacology, zoology, agriculture,...

, BIOSIS Previews

BIOSIS Previews

BIOSIS Previews is an English-language, bibliographic database service, with abstracts and citation indexing. It is part of Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge suite. Content that was originally integrated from the BIOSIS company before the merger in 2004 is now part of the Web of Knowledge...

, Current Contents

Current Contents

Current Contents is a rapid alerting service database from the Institute for Scientific Information, now part of Thomson Reuters, that is published online and in several different printed subject sections.-History:...

, Science Citation Index

Science Citation Index

The Science Citation Index is a citation index originally produced by the Institute for Scientific Information and created by Eugene Garfield in 1960, which is now owned by Thomson Reuters. The larger version covers more than 6,500 notable and significant journals, across 150 disciplines, from ...

, and The Zoological Record

The Zoological Record

The Zoological Record is a print and electronic index of zoological literature that also serves as the unofficial register of scientific names in zoology....

. According to the Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports

Journal Citation Reports is an annual publication by the Healthcare & Science division of Thomson Reuters. It has been integrated with the Web of Knowledge, by Thomson Reuters, and is accessed from the Web of Science to JCR Web. It provides information about academic journals in the sciences and...

, its 2009 impact factor

Impact factor

The impact factor, often abbreviated IF, is a measure reflecting the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is frequently used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field, with journals with higher impact factors deemed...

 is 0.500.

Editors

Editors of The Nautilus included notable malacologists:

• William D. Averell (1853-1928), editor and business manager in 1886-1889.
• Charles Willison Johnson (1863-1932), business manager in 1890-1932.
• Henry Augustus Pilsbry
  Henry Augustus Pilsbry
  Henry Augustus Pilsbry was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a century...
  
   (1862-1957), editor in 1889-1957.
• Horace Burrington Baker (1889-1971), business manager since 1932, editor in 1958-1968.
• Charles B. Wurtz (1916-1982), editor since 1958
• Robert Tucker Abbott
  R. Tucker Abbott
  Robert Tucker Abbott was an American conchologist and malacologist . He was the author of more than 30 books on malacology, which have been translated into many languages....
  
   (1919-1995), editor in 1968-1995.
• Myroslaw George Harasewych (born 1949), editor in 1985-1998.