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Brian1946's avatar

Which vertebrates do not have hemoglobin in their red blood cells, and which invertebrates have it in their tissues?

Asked by Brian1946 (32592points) May 8th, 2023

Per Wiki, per Trivia Clue:

Hemoglobin is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocytes) of almost all vertebrates, as well as the tissues of some invertebrates.

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2 Answers

RedDeerGuy1's avatar

My guess is fish.

smudges's avatar

Interesting…

Johan Ruud and other researchers confirmed that the Antarctic icefishes, as they are now known, are the only vertebrates that lack both red blood cells and hemoglobin—the iron-rich protein such cells use to bind and ferry oxygen through the circulatory system from heart to lungs to tissues and back again.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/how-the-antarctic-icefish-lost-its-red-blood-cells-but-survived-anyway/

Most invertebrates carry genes for hemoglobins, but they generally use other metalloprotein pigments in their versions of blood. Insects, crustaceans and other arthropods use hemocyanin, a bluish copper-based pigment. Mollusks, ranging from clams to squids and octopuses, use hemocyanin, too, but they seem to have invented their version of it independently. Some worms use purplish hemerythrin; others use greenish chlorocruorin; some use a combination of pigments.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/icefish-study-adds-another-color-to-the-story-of-blood-20190422/

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