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NEUTRAL PASSIVE Added in 1.21.11

Zombie Nautilus mob in Minecraft

The Zombie Nautilus is the undead version of the Nautilus: a rotting shell that can still be saddled, armored and ridden. As an undead mob, it follows the rules of zombies, so Smite hurts it, healing potions damage it and sunlight sets it on fire out of the water.

Health: 157.5 hearts
Behavior: Neutral
Main drop: Rotten Flesh
Found in: It doesn’t spawn on its own: it appears in the water with a Drowned riding it, holding a Trident

Zombie Nautilus stats

Health: 15 7.5 hearts
Behavior: Neutral
Main drop: Rotten Flesh
Spawns in: —
Size: 0.875 × 0.95 blocks
XP when killed: 1 to 3
Speed: 1.1
Detection range: 16 blocks
Knockback resistance: 30%

// Experience drops only when a player kills it. Speeds are the game’s internal values, not blocks per second.

How much damage Zombie Nautilus deals

Damage to a player without armor, by world difficulty. 1 ♥ = 2 damage points.

Melee attack

Peaceful00 ♥

Easy2.51.25 ♥

Normal31.5 ♥

Hard4.52.25 ♥

// Armor, Protection and Resistance reduce these values. Base values read from the game code (26.3).

Where to find Zombie Nautilus

It doesn’t spawn on its own: it appears in the water with a Drowned riding it, holding a Trident. In Warm Oceans it takes its coral variant.

Zombie Nautilus drops

Zombie Nautilus dropsFrom the loot table · chance per kill

Rotten Flesh+1 per Looting level · Only when killed by a player0–3

Carried items and gearDropped on death, outside the loot table (game code)

Anything a player put on itAlways dropped: Copper Nautilus Armor, Diamond Nautilus Armor, Golden Nautilus Armor, Iron Nautilus Armor, Netherite Nautilus Armor and Saddle100%

Health compared

Health vs other neutral mobshealth points

Piglin16

Spider16

Nautilus15

Zombie Nautilus15

Cave Spider12

Bee10

Dolphin10

Variants

2 variants. The game picks one when the mob spawns, based on where it appears.

Temperate

Warm Spawns in warm oceans

Zombie Nautilus and its family

Mobs built on the same base in the game code, compared on their game values.

Mob	Health	Attack	XP	Speed	Burns in daylight	Ignores Poison and Regeneration	Inverted healing	Weak to Smite	Undead	Ignored by the Wither
Nautilus	15	3	1–3	1	·	·	·	·	·	·
Zombie Nautilus	15	3	1–3	1.1	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Traits

Properties set in the game files.

AquaticImpaling deals extra damage to it.

Burns in daylightCatches fire in sunlight unless it wears a helmet or stands in shade or water.

Breathes underwaterDoes not drown.

SaddleCan be saddled and ridden.

Nautilus armorCan wear nautilus armor.

Ignores Poison and RegenerationThese two effects have no effect on it.

Inverted healingInstant Health hurts it and Instant Damage heals it.

Ignored by pufferfishPufferfish do not puff up near it.

Weak to ImpalingImpaling deals extra damage to it.

Weak to SmiteSmite deals extra damage to it.

UndeadThe game counts it among the undead, which affects how several effects and enchantments treat it.

Ignored by the WitherThe Wither does not target it.

ZombiePart of the zombie family.

Gear and tools

Items it can wear, and items you use on it.

WearsCopper Nautilus Armor

WearsDiamond Nautilus Armor

WearsGolden Nautilus Armor

WearsIron Nautilus Armor

WearsNetherite Nautilus Armor

WearsSaddle

Advancements with Zombie Nautilus

Advancements whose criteria involve this mob, from the game files.

Monster HunterKill any hostile monster Monsters HuntedKill one of every hostile monster

Command

Summon Zombie Nautilus/summon →

/summon minecraft:zombie_nautilus ~ ~ ~

What sets it apart from the Nautilus

It shares the body, size and health of the Nautilus, and it can also wear a saddle and nautilus armor, from copper up to netherite. Its sounds include the same jet and recovery noises, so it dashes like its living cousin. The differences come from what it is: the game counts it among the undead and in the zombie family, alongside the Zombie and its variants.

Unlike the Nautilus, it does not appear through normal ocean spawning, and it cannot breed, but a Pufferfish or a Bucket of Pufferfish can tame it, like the Nautilus.

Two looks: temperate and warm

A Zombie Nautilus usually has a grey, decayed shell. When it appears in a warm ocean, it takes its warm variant instead, overgrown with coral. Both behave the same way.

How to fight a Zombie Nautilus

Smite deals extra damage to it, like to every undead mob. Impaling also works, since it is aquatic.
Healing hurts, Harming heals. A splash Potion of Healing damages it, while a Potion of Harming restores its health.
Poison and Regeneration have no effect on it.
Sunlight sets it on fire when it is out of the water and not in the shade. Underwater, it never burns.

The Wither does not target it, as with the other undead.

What it drops

Only Rotten Flesh, and only when a player kills it; Looting raises the amount. It never drops a Nautilus Shell, so hunt living Nautiluses, fish, or trade with the Wandering Trader to build a Conduit.

✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026