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Do All Animals Have Red Blood?

Updated: Jun 04, 2024
Views: 16,878
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Not all forms of animal or insect life have red blood. A notable exception is the spider. Spiders have blood that appears to be a somewhat blue or blue-green variety. This is because the oxygen in a spider's bloodstream is not bound to hemoglobin, as is the case with humans. Instead, the oxygen is bound to hemocyanin, which contains copper rather than the iron that is found in hemoglobin. The result is a blood color that is blue rather than red.

More facts about animal blood:

  • Not all living things contain blood. Invertebrates such as flat worms and jelly fish do not rely on blood to distribute nutrition though the body. These animals without backbones are capable of absorbing nutrients through the skin and eliminating waste in a similar manner.

  • There are several variations of blood color in different types of animals. Crabs and lobsters have blue blood, and leeches and earthworms have green blood. There also are invertebrates, such as starfish, that have yellow blood.

  • Giraffes tend to have the highest average blood pressure when compared to other types of wild and domestic animals.

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Malcolm Tatum
By Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing to become a full-time freelance writer. He has contributed articles to a variety of print and online publications, including All Things Nature, and his work has also been featured in poetry collections, devotional anthologies, and newspapers. When not writing, Malcolm enjoys collecting vinyl records, following minor league baseball, and cycling.
Discussion Comments
By ElaineMica — On Sep 09, 2015

I want to know the answer as well because it's interesting. I also want to know whether the animals are the same as human beings in terms of blood.

By anon275754 — On Jun 20, 2012

Giraffes tend to have a long neck and legs. Physically, their heart is far from these organs. This might be the reason for the heart to work hard (increased pressure) so it can supply blood to those organs and especially to the head (a little one, which seems to have almost no brain). They might have evolved during an era where there was strong competition amongst the herbivores.

Has someone researched the intelligence of these animals, maybe in comparison to fellow herbivores like camels?

Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum
Malcolm Tatum, a former teleconferencing industry professional, followed his passion for trivia, research, and writing...
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