Not like everyone else: animals with blue, green, and purple blood

Blood flows in the bodies of living beings, and we are used to the fact that it is always red. However, in fact, its color depends on which metals are included in its composition. For example, the red color is due to hemoglobin, which includes iron and protein. It is thanks to hemoglobin that oxygen enters our blood vessels.

Curious, but also the blood is blue. And now we do not mean the blue blood of noble masters, but we speak quite literally. Blue blood flows in the organisms of such creatures as scorpions, octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, crabs, crayfish, spiders and others. Instead of iron, their blood contains copper, and it, when combined with oxygen, gives this color. In this case, we already have not hemoglobin, but hemocyanin. Its key function in the body is exactly the same - to deliver oxygen to the organs. But since the owners of blue blood do not have blood vessels, hemocyanin has to perform a number of important tasks. In particular, regulate body temperature depending on the environment.

You will be surprised, however, in the 20th century, scientists said that some people may also have blue blood if copper prevails in it. And its owners have always been. For such individuals, a name is even coined - kyanetics. It is believed that people in this group are more resilient and have better health, and their wounds heal faster due to the fact that blue blood coagulates faster.

However, the blood of some organisms may have another shade - green. Here it is truly unique, because only several species of sea worms can be called its carriers. The bright green pigment their blood acquires due to the presence of ferrous iron. In this case, the substance chlorocruorin is responsible for the distribution of oxygen.

However, this is not all. In some species of mollusks, hemerythrin was found; this protein contains about 5 times more iron than hemoglobin. Due to this, the blood acquires a rich purple hue.