“Animal blood comes in a rainbow of hues because of the varying chemistry of the molecules it uses to carry oxygen. Humans use hemoglobin, whose iron content imparts a crimson color to our red blood cells. Octopuses, lobsters, and horseshoe crabs use hemocyanin, which has copper instead of iron, and is blue instead of red—that’s why these creatures bleed blue. Other related molecules are responsible for the violet blood of some marine worms, and the green blood of leeches. But the green-blooded lizards use good old hemoglobin. Their red blood cells are, well, red. Their green has a stranger origin: Biliverdin.
They should be dead. Biliverdin can damage DNA, kill cells, and destroy neurons. And yet, the lizards have the highest levels of biliverdin ever seen in an animal. Their blood contains up to 20 times more of it than the highest concentration ever recorded in a human—an amount that proved to be fatal. And yet, not only are the lizards still alive, they’re not even jaundiced. How do they tolerate the chemical? Why did they evolve such high levels of biliverdin in the first place? And why, as Austin’s colleague Zachary Rodriguez has just discovered, did they do so on several occasions?”
Most of our perception of what Goblin sharks looks like comes from dead specimines where they are all mangled and shrivelled, and are always positioned with their jaws protruding out.
When while alive they only ever extend their jaw for feeding, and arnt half as creepy looking
they do look like goblins
this also disregards the fact that they can still propel their jaws forward like an aquatic xenomorph from hell
So can many other fish, I’m just not judging them for their beautiful smile.
*peeks around a corner* Hey!! My last year of school is taking all of my time away but I’m still alive!! :‘DD I’m working on some bigger projects which I won’t be able to share until next year, but at least I’ve got some cool stuff on the way!
This submission is part of an infography project we’re doing. I might share more with you some day!
YEEN FACTS: did you know… … spotted hyenas actually hunt 95% of their food? … they live in matriarchal clans/tribes? … hyenas have the strongest bite out of all mammals? … they’re part of the Feliformia animal suborder, being more related to cats than they are to dogs?
Plume de Lynx 