hemocyanin
Quick Summary
Hemocyanin is a copper-containing respiratory pigment found in the circulatory fluid of various arthropods and mollusks. It is colorless when deoxygenated and turns blue when it binds with oxygen. Hemocyanins function as oxygen carriers in many animals, increasing the oxygen-carrying capacity of their blood. This pigment is dissolved in the plasma, rather than being enclosed in blood cells.123
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- colorationHemocyanins
Copper-containing proteins called hemocyanins occur notably in the blood of larger crustaceans and of gastropod and cephalopod mollusks. Hemocyanins are colourless in the reduced, or deoxygenated, state and blue when exposed to air or to oxygen dissolved in the blood. Hemocyanins serve as respiratory…
Read MoreCopper-containing proteins called hemocyanins occur notably in the blood of larger crustaceans and of gastropod and cephalopod mollusks. Hemocyanins are colourless in the reduced, or deoxygenated, state and blue when exposed to air or to oxygen dissolved in the blood. Hemocyanins serve as respiratory…
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bloodHemocyanin, a copper-containing protein chemically unlike hemoglobin, is found in some crustaceans. Hemocyanin is blue in color when oxygenated and colorless when oxygen is removed. Some annelids have the iron-containing green pigment chlorocruorin, others the iron-containing red pigment hemerythrin. In many invertebrates the respiratory pigments…
Read MoreHemocyanin, a copper-containing protein chemically unlike hemoglobin, is found in some crustaceans. Hemocyanin is blue in color when oxygenated and colorless when oxygen is removed. Some annelids have the iron-containing green pigment chlorocruorin, others the iron-containing red pigment hemerythrin. In many invertebrates the respiratory pigments…
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circulatory systemBloodHemocyanins are copper-containing respiratory pigments found in many mollusks (some bivalves, many gastropods, and cephalopods) and arthropods (many crustaceans, some arachnids, and the horseshoe crab, Limulus). They are colorless when deoxygenated but turn blue on oxygenation. The copper is bound directly to the protein, and…
Read MoreHemocyanins are copper-containing respiratory pigments found in many mollusks (some bivalves, many gastropods, and cephalopods) and arthropods (many crustaceans, some arachnids, and the horseshoe crab, Limulus). They are colorless when deoxygenated but turn blue on oxygenation. The copper is bound directly to the protein, and…
Read More- circulatory systemMollusca
…most mollusks, including cephalopods, contains hemocyanin, although a few gastropods use hemoglobin. In the cephalopods the pigment unloads at relatively high oxygen pressures, indicating that it is used to transport rather than store oxygen.
Read More…most mollusks, including cephalopods, contains hemocyanin, although a few gastropods use hemoglobin. In the cephalopods the pigment unloads at relatively high oxygen pressures, indicating that it is used to transport rather than store oxygen.
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