Octopuses have three hearts, which is partly a consequence of having blue blood. Their two peripheral hearts pump blood through the gills, where it picks up oxygen. A central heart then circulates the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body to provide energy for organs and muscles. Show Octopuses are cephalopods, which literally means “head foot”, describing their truncated anatomy. Like the three other members of the group – squids, cuttlefish and nautiluses – they have blue blood, because it uses a copper-rich protein to transport oxygen. This helps explain why they need three hearts. Our red blood gets its colour from an iron-based protein called haemoglobin, which is carried in red blood cells. Cephalopods use a copper-based protein called haemocyanin, which is much larger and circulates in the blood plasma. Haemocyanin is less efficient at binding with oxygen than is haemoglobin. However, octopuses compensate for this by having three hearts – two “branchial” hearts, which receive deoxygenated blood from around the body and pump it through the gills, and one “systemic” heart, which takes that oxygen-rich blood, increases its pressure and then circulates it around the rest of the body. One clue that the three-heart system is needed to help power an octopus’s active lifestyle comes from the other cephalopods. The only member of the group not to share this anatomical anomaly is the nautilus, which is more sedentary and energy-efficient than the others. What’s more, octopuses may be particularly reliant on good circulation of oxygenated blood to power their extensive nervous system. Octopuses have nine brains: a central brain between their eyes and a mini one in each arm. This brain tissue is notoriously fuel intensive. AdvertisementOf course, octopuses also need oxygen to power their muscles. Their preferred mode of locomotion is to crawl along the seabed. They can also swim at high speeds, propelled by jets of water, which they shoot out of a tube called a siphon. However, when they are swimming, the systemic heart does not beat, so they tire easily. There are some 300 species of octopus, ranging in size from the giant Pacific octopus, which can weigh 50 kilograms, to the tiny Octopus wolfi, at less than a gram. Almost all octopuses are solitary. They live in a wide range of habitats from intertidal zones to deep water, and this is where having blue blood may be advantageous. Haemocyanin seems to help octopuses transport oxygen efficiently in environments that vary widely in temperature and oxygen levels. It is particularly efficient in the cold ocean, which is a boon for species like the Antarctic octopus. However, haemocyanin loses its ability to bind to oxygen as acidity increases. That doesn’t bode well for octopuses as climate change makes oceans warmer and more acidic. Unlike most animals on earth, whose blood is iron-based, some mollusks (Mollusca) and arthropods (Arthropoda) have copper-based blood. The protein molecule hemocyanin carries oxygen through the body, in much the same way hemoglobin carries oxygen to cells in mammals and other animals. When the blood circulates through the mollusk or arthopod, it is clear, but when exposed to the air it turns bluish. While the best-known example of an arthropod with copper-based blood is the horseshoe crab, a number of other arthropods have blue blood. Horseshoe CrabsNorth America's horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) lives along the East Coast shoreline, from Maine to the Yucatan Peninsula. Present-day horseshoe crabs closely resemble fossils that date back 230 million years, to the Triassic period. Similar fossil species go back even further, 400 million years, to the Devonian period. The horseshoe crab's copper-based blood is essential to the pharmaceutical companies, which harvest the creatures, remove one-third of their blood, then return them to the sea. The horseshoe crab's blood coagulates in the presence of certain bacterial toxins, allowing the companies to ensure that drugs and other products are safe for human use. The IUCN Red List classifies the horseshoe crab as near threatened due to human activities, including harvesting, pollution and habitat loss. The MollusksMost mollusks have copper-based blood, including the Burgundy snail (Helix pomatia, also known as the vineyard snail), octopuses (order Octopoda) and squids (order Teuthida). Burgundy snails are land-dwelling mollusks, native to the Mediterranean, Central and Southeast Europe but spread by humans (Homo sapiens) across Asia, Europe and North America. Meanwhile, all the octopus and squid species are ocean-dwelling creatures, living from the tropics to the temperate zones. The protein in copper-based blood, called hemocyanin, functions better than iron-based hemoglobin would in carrying oxygen through the mollusks' bodies in the cold, oxygen-poor depths of the ocean. The CrustaceansMembers of the crustacean family, the decapods (order Decapoda) such as crabs, crayfish, lobsters and shrimps, also have blue, copper-based blood. Commonly known as insects of the sea, the decapods are omnivores. They eat both plants and animals, including other crustaceans, fish and worms. Some crabs are also scavengers, cleaning up the beaches and ocean floor. While most decapods are ocean-dwellers, the crayfish, also known as crawdads and mudbugs, are freshwater crustaceans that live in ponds, rivers, creeks and ditches. Decapods are also arthropods. The ArachnidsAmong the other blue-blooded arthropods are members of the Arachnida class, including spiders and scorpions such as the wandering spider (Cupiennius saki), the tarantula (Eurypelma californicum) and the emperor scorpion (Pandinus imperator, also known as the imperial scorpion). While most spiders' venom is not dangerous to humans, scorpions' stings are painful and may (like bee stings) cause an allergic reaction, which might be fatal in sensitive individuals. Over 50,000 spider species and about 1,200 scorpion species have been identified. References
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Writer Bio With degrees in fine and commercial art and Spanish, Ruth de Jauregui is an old-school graphic artist, book designer and published author. De Jauregui authored 50 Fabulous Tomatoes for Your Garden, available as an ebook. She enthusiastically pursues creative and community interests, including gardening, home improvement and social issues. What metal is in octopus blood?7) Octopuses have blue blood. To survive in the deep ocean, octopuses evolved a copper rather than iron-based blood called hemocyanin, which turns its blood blue. This copper base is more efficient at transporting oxygen than hemoglobin when water temperature is very low and not much oxygen is around.
What is blue blood made of?Some types of octopus, squid, and crustaceans have blue blood. Their blood contains a high concentration of copper. When copper mixes with oxygen, it gives their blood its blue color. Blue and red are not the only possible colors of blood — some animals bleed green.
Why is octopus blue?The same pigment that gives the octopus blood its blue color, hemocyanin, is responsible for keeping the species alive at extreme temperatures. Hemocyanin is a blood-borne protein containing copper atoms that bind to an equal number of oxygen atoms.
What element makes the blood of some animals blue?blue Horseshoe crab, octopus, lobster, spider Hemocyanin contains copper that binds to oxygen, making the blood appear blue.
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What metal makes octopus blood blue
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