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What animals have blue blood? Colored blood Who has blue blood in animals

In this photo, the process of taking blood from a real animal in a US medical laboratory.
They write that such a process does not cause any harm to the animal.
Who knows what animal in the land of blue bloods?

Have you ever heard of such an amazing living creature as the horseshoe crab? On the English language its name literally sounds like horseshoe crab, but the horseshoe crab (lat. Xiphosura) has nothing to do with either an ordinary crab, or, of course, with a horseshoe. At the same time, in its position in the natural world, the horseshoe crab is related to crabs and even spiders.

In the scientific community, the horseshoe crab is better known as Limulus polyphemus. Translated from the Latin "polyphemus" means "many-eyed", which best characterizes appearance this creature. Horseshoe crabs have four eyes, with two of them on the side and two in front. The front eyes, at the same time, are so close to each other that they seem to merge into one eye.

According to scientists, horseshoe crabs can be attributed to fossil animals that have survived to this day. The history of the existence of this living being covers two hundred million years, and during this time appearance horseshoe crabs remained virtually unchanged. In nature, there are very few such unique examples that are so attractive for scientific observation and study.

The body of the horseshoe crab is protected by a reliable shell, while the side eyes allow you to catch the slightest movement from all sides. The tail of the animal has several spiky protrusions, which also make it possible to maintain balance in a strong water current. Turning over, the horseshoe crab quickly regains its former position with the help of the movement of the tail.

Horseshoe crabs have six pairs of limbs, four of which help move along the seabed. In addition, the short limbs in the front allow holding and absorbing food, while the longest hind limbs help the creature swim. The mouth opening of the horseshoe crab is hidden behind those four limbs, thanks to which it can move along the bottom.

Another surprising thing is that horseshoe crabs have no teeth. Being completely omnivorous, horseshoe crab has to absorb food, tearing it into small pieces. Its main prey is carrion, algae, fish caviar, as well as all kinds of sea oysters and worms.

The respiratory apparatus of the horseshoe crab is gills, consisting of one and a half hundred of the thinnest plates that release and absorb oxygen from the water. The creature can breathe as long as its gills are kept in

These are octopuses - cousins of oysters. Their blood is unusual - blue! Dark blue when oxygenated and pale in veins. The color of the blood of these animals depends on the metals that make up its composition.

All vertebrates, as well as earthworm, leeches and house flies blood is red. In the blood of many sea worms ferrous iron was found, and therefore the color of the blood of these worms is green. Octopuses, as well as spiders, crayfish and scorpions, have blue blood. Instead of hemoglobin, it contains the substance hemocyanin, with copper as the metal. Copper gives the blood a bluish color.

Octopuses have two more amazing properties. First, they have not one but three hearts! One drives blood through the body, and the other two push it through the gills. The second is that nature endowed them with a grater, with which they prepare mashed crabs and fish for themselves. The esophagus of octopuses is very small, therefore, despite their large appetites, they cannot swallow prey larger than a forest ant. This is where their "graters" help them. The fleshy tongue of octopuses is covered with tiny teeth. They grind food, turning it into gruel. Food is wetted in the mouth with saliva and enters the stomach.

Everyone probably knows that with the onset of autumn, birds are removed from their homes and in huge flocks fly away to distant lands for the winter. And in the spring, when the ground thaws and the trees are ready to bud, ready to bloom, the birds return.

Along with the rest of the bird flocks, the polar long-tailed tern also flies home. This is a small bird with a black coquettish cap, red beak and red paws. The tern does not stay, like many other birds, in areas middle lane, and together with northern birds flies further. For her nesting, she chose the regions of the Far North - Alaska, the Arctic islands of Canada, Greenland. There is also a long-tailed tern in our northern Siberia.

But the most surprising thing is, of course, not this. In autumn, leaving the cold tundra, the tern flies south, so far that it again gets into places solid ice and snow. She winters in Antarctica. Thus, our Siberian Arctic Terns fly 32 thousand kilometers to get back to their favorite cold places.

They also try to avoid warm countries, some flocks make a detour, sometimes even several hundred kilometers, just to fly over cold areas.

Scientists believe that such an addiction of terns to a cold climate is explained very simply. Arctic long-tailed terns feed small fish and crustaceans, and them in cold water more than warm. Obviously, there are other reasons that are still a mystery.

Why is the sloth so called?

They named him so for a reason: he can spend hours, doing nothing, hanging motionless or swinging on a branch and even sleep, eat in this position. He seems to be too lazy to even move!

It is very convenient for a sloth to hang: one has only to catch on a branch with its long, strong claws-hooks. The homeland of the sloth is green forests on the banks of the Amazon in South America. There is also enough food for him: the sloth eats the leaves and bark of trees.

This is one of the most interesting animals that exist in nature.

What is a reptile?

Reptiles (reptiles) are cold-blooded creatures, most of whose skin is covered with horny scales. They breathe with the help of lungs, have unstable body temperature. They reproduce mainly by laying eggs. There are four categories of reptiles: turtles (marine and terrestrial), crocodiles, tuatara (beak-headed) and snake lizards (scaly). Most major representative family of reptiles - the South American anaconda snake. Its usual length is 7–8 meters, there are specimens of 10 meters each.

The brightest and "attractive" reptile is the crocodile. Its habitats are Africa, Asia and Australia. Some reptiles are extremely poisonous and dangerous. For example, a coral snake that lives in South America. However, poisonous snakes can also be found in Southern Europe, in rocky, mountainous places. Among our "countrymen" the most terrible is the gray viper, whose bite is fatal. Harmless snakes are almost ubiquitous, which are easy to distinguish from the same viper by their oval head (the viper has a triangular head) and a simpler pattern on the skin.

They probably still remember from childhood that fairytale princes and princesses have blue blood. In folklore and in the same fairy tales, it acts as a sign of nobility. However, in reality blue blood flows not with the most noble creatures ...

Red blood flows in the veins of almost all living organisms. The red color of blood gives a special pigment - hemoglobin, consisting of gland and protein. main function hemoglobin is the transport of oxygen through the blood vessels.

Blood blue color flowing in the veins spiders, scorpions, crabs, crayfish and all cephalopods (squids, octopuses...). Unlike red blood, blue blood contains a pigment called hemocyanin. The basis of hemocyanin is another metal - copper It is what gives blood its blue color.

Since blue blood carriers do not have blood vessels, hemocyanin falls on their shoulders much more features than for hemoglobin. In addition to the fact that the blue pigment very accurately measures and delivers portions of oxygen to the organs, it also regulates body temperature in accordance with the state of the environment.

The carriers of the most unique blood in the world are several types of marine worms. The main pigment of their blood consists of ferrous iron, so this blood has bright green color.

In this photo, the process of taking blood from a real animal in a US medical laboratory.
They write that such a process does not cause any harm to the animal.

Who knows what animal in the land of blue bloods?

Have you ever heard of such an amazing living creature as the horseshoe crab? In English, its name literally sounds like “horseshoe crab”, but the horseshoe crab (lat. Xiphosura) has nothing to do with an ordinary crab, and, of course, with a horseshoe. At the same time, in its position in the natural world, the horseshoe crab is related to crabs and even spiders.

In the scientific community, the horseshoe crab is better known as Limulus polyphemus. Translated from the Latin "polyphemus" means "many-eyed", which best characterizes the appearance of this creature. Horseshoe crabs have four eyes, with two of them on the side and two in front. The front eyes, at the same time, are so close to each other that they seem to merge into one eye.

According to scientists, horseshoe crabs can be attributed to fossil animals that have survived to this day. The history of the existence of this living creature covers two hundred million years, and during this time the appearance of horseshoe crabs has not changed much. In nature, there are very few such unique examples that are so attractive for scientific observation and study.

Like fish and crustaceans, horseshoe crabs reproduce by spawning. When born, a small horseshoe crab does not yet have a tail and, as it were, is dressed in a soft armored shell. But after a month, they grow out of the shell, which has time to harden, and often shed it. The length of an adult horseshoe crab can reach 60 centimeters, and, of course, he often has to drop shells that interfere with body growth.

The horseshoe crab is a real miracle of nature, which came in our days from those distant times when there was not only a person, but also modern flora and fauna

And his blood is blue, because it does not contain iron, like ours, but copper. Copper oxide is what gives horseshoe crab blood a bluish tint. horseshoe crab blood is used in medical purposes, a reagent is made from it to check the purity medical preparations: if the drug is contaminated with microorganisms or their products, the blood coagulates.