Why Blood Comes in So Many Colors Within Different Species of the Animal Kingdom

Rainbow of Blood Colors

In a sanguine episode of Anna’s Science Magic Show Hooray!, host Anna Rothschild (previously) of both Washington Post Science and Gross Science fame, used paint-dipped gloves to visually show and tell why different species have different colors of blood. Humans have bright red blood, but without the oxygen carrying protein of heme (the very same protein Impossible Foods has extracted from plants), human blood is more of a dark brick red. The blood of certain lizards is green due to a waste product that circulates through their body, seemingly to fight off blood infections, while certain mollusks have blue blood.

submitted via Laughing Squid Tips

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

Recent Posts