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How Many Hearts Does An Octopus Have

An octopus is a marine animal best known for their flexibility, and 8 arms that usually have a number of suction cups. They are classified as a cephalopod, along with the squid and cuttlefish. There are approximately 300 different species of octopuses and they can be found throughout most of the world ocean’s. Although these species have some differences, all octopuses have the same number of hearts.

How many hearts do octopuses have?
An octopus has three hearts. Two of these hearts are known as branchial heart, which are located at the base of the gills, and pump the blood through each of the octopuses gills. These two branchial hearts support the main heart, known as a systemic heart, which pumps oxygenated blood through the rest of the body.

Many people believe that the blood of an octopus is blue. Unlike many animals, the blood of an octopus contains the protein hemocyanin, instead of hemoglobin, for transporting oxygen. Hemocyanin lacks iron, which makes human blood red, which means that the blood of an octopus is actually colorless and turns blue when exposed to air. Hemocyanin is less efficient that hemoglobin in regular conditions, but it is much more efficient at transporting oxygen in cold conditions and under low oxygen pressure than hemoglobin.

Did you know?
The other members of the cephalopod family, squid and cuttlefish, also have the same 3 heart system as the octopus.

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