The animals move primarily by crawling along the seafloor and have relatively short lives, making traditional migration out of the question [source: Society for Experimental Biology ]. By contrast, mammals' blood including ours is red because it contains iron-rich hemoglobin [source: Sirucek ]. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe.
Wild Animals. Marine Life. Why Is Octopus Blood Blue? The blue comes from a copper-rich protein called hemocyanin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream and then to the cells of the octopus's body. Hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein found in the blood of other animals—including humans—serves the same oxygen-transporting function but turns blood red.
But for the Antarctic octopus Pareledone charcoti , transporting oxygen via hemocyanin poses problems at subzero temperatures. That's because in polar waters oxygen binds so tightly to hemocyanin that it doesn't let go very easily. If these tissues can't get oxygen, the octopus will die. A new study, published March 11 in the journal Frontiers in Zoology , shows that this cold-water critter overcomes the obstacles by producing an overabundance of hemocyanin.
He found that on average, P. The ocellated icefish , for instance, may brush fins with the Antarctic octopus in the same chilly habitat, but its blood is quite different. It runs completely clear. The polar dweller lacks both hemoglobin and hemocyanin, leaving its blood without any color at all. There's enough dissolved oxygen at these depths that the fish doesn't need an active oxygen carrier like hemoglobin," Oellermann said.
Scientists believe that the absence of scales helps oxygen diffuse through the icefish's skin, where it's pumped around the body by an unusually large heart. The country of Papua New Guinea is home to the green-blooded skink, which biologist Christopher Austin at Louisiana State University has spent his career studying.
The skink uses hemoglobin to carry oxygen, and as in many animals, the liver breaks down the used hemoglobin into by-products such as bilirubin and biliverdin. Humans normally excrete these by-products into the intestines, since a buildup of them in the blood can cause jaundice or a yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes. The skink, however, seems to thrive with high levels of biliverdin in its blood, which gives the blood a green color.
Austin is currently working to determine what factors may have forced the skink to adapt to such high biliverdin levels. His current hypothesis is that the chemical provides protection against parasites like those that cause malaria. With so many species remaining to be studied, one thing's for sure: There will be blood research for many years to come.
All rights reserved. Hemocyanin absorbs all colours except blue which it reflects, making their blood appear blue. So why do human veins appear blue from the outside?
Since the white light that comes from the sun or out lightbulbs contains within it all colours of light, some colours penetrate our skin deeper than others. Blue light doesn't penetrate our skin as well as red light, so it bounces back to our eyes and makes our veins appear blue. Want to engage with this content? Comment on this article on our Facebook Page! Enter your keywords. Sign-Up Here.
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