Whereas most vertebrates have crimson red blood derived from the ferrous form of heme, these lizards have lime green–colored blood, resulting in bright green coloration of their muscles, bones, tongue, and mucosal tissues (1).
But as it turns out, not all animals have red blood. To understand why red blood is not universal in the animal kingdom, it helps to understand why our blood — and the blood of virtually all vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds and fish — is red.
New Guinea is home to multiple lizard species from the skink family with lime green blood. (Consequently, their tongues, muscles and bones are all various shades of green.) Like humans, the reptiles have hemoglobin-rich red blood cells.
The lizard has blood of red color. House bug and Mosquito contains hemolymph. Insect blood is called hemolymph, it contains various nutrients, hormones, and other things. Hemolymph does not have any red blood cells or haemoglobin.
“It's an unusual physiological trait that's only found in New Guinean lizards, so it probably evolved once,” says Austin. “That's the obvious expectation,” and it's why all the green-blooded species are classified as Prasinohaema, from the Greek for “green blood.” It's also completely wrong.
One group of segmented marine worms has pink blood. This is because the molecule that carries the oxygen is a type of blood pigment, known as hemerythrin, which is described as pink or purple. A few species of segmented worms don't have any oxygen-carrying molecules at all, so their blood is colourless.
Blue blood is found in octopuses and horseshoe crabs. This is due to the fact that hemocyanin, the protein that transports oxygen in their blood, is blue. Octopuses have three hearts, which is due in part to their blue blood.
Prasinohaema prehensicauda, found in New Guinea, is a green-blooded lizard with high concentrations of biliverdin, a toxic green bile pigment. Green blood is one of the most unusual characteristics in the animal kingdom—and the hallmark of a group of lizards in New Guinea.
Snakes, lizards, crocodiles, alligators, tortoises, and turtles are all reptiles. Reptiles are cold-blooded, so most of these animals live where it's warm.
Sea cucumbers have yellow blood due to a high concentration of a yellow vanadium-based pigment called vanabin. Some members of the phylum Annelida (segmented worms and leeches) have a greenish respiratory pigment called chlorocruorin.
Lizards have a three chambered heart with left and right atria and a single ventricle - the interventricular septum is only partially complete but serves to channel deoxygenated blood to the pulmonary trunk and oxygenated blood to the circulation.
Meanwhile, some marine worms (such as peanut worms,) have purple blood for a different reason: an oxygen-binding protein called hemerythrin. Finally, there are other marine worms called polychaetes that have blood with yet another oxygen-binding protein, called chlorocruonin.
The icefish of the Channichthyidae family are unusual in several ways—they lack scales and have transparent bones, for example—but what stands out most is their so-called white blood, which is unique among vertebrates.
Surely the most striking and most studied of all anole traits is the dewlap, a brightly colored, extendable throat-flap that the lizards use to signal would-be mates and rivals. Dewlap colors vary from brilliant yellow, red, and blue to two-tone white and orange versions that resemble miniature fried eggs.
Reptiles are cold-blooded, or ectothermic, animals. This means that they cannot produce heat in their own bodies, and have to rely on their surroundings to keep warm. This is why most reptiles are found in hot or warm climates.
Eels have blood that is poisonous to humans, but the poison is rendered inert when heated. This is one reason why, among the raw fish served in sushi, eel is typically cooked.
Smaller lizards are generally not aggressive, so you shouldn't be afraid of getting close to them. As they are cold-blooded, anything cold will immobilize them, so try spraying one with ice-cold water to stun them and make it easier for you to remove them from your residence.
Reptiles can overheat, just like any other pet. Keep an eye out for warning signs! While these will vary, depending on what type of pet you have, there are some common ones to look for. These include trembling, lethargy, aggression, and disorientation.
Vertebrates, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish also have red blood because they too use hemoglobin as an oxygen transport protein.
Conolophus marthae, the Galápagos pink land iguana, is a species of lizard of the family Iguanidae. This critically endangered iguana is native only to the Wolf Volcano in northern Isabela Island of the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador).
A rare condition in some people called sulfhemoglobinemia has blood that appears green, dark blue or even black. This condition is caused by exposure to excessive amounts of sulfur-containing compounds (or medications that contain sulfonamides).
Invertebrates like insects, spiders, aquatic arthropods and molluscs have circulatory systems that do not contain blood vessels. In these open circulatory systems, a fluid called hemolymph circulates in the interior of the body in direct contact with the tissues.
Do spiders bleed? No spiders cannot bleed because they do not have true blood. Spiders used a circulatory fluid called haemolymph instead of blood.
While humans and many other species have red blood, due to the iron in their hemoglobin, other animals have different colored blood. Spiders (as well as horseshoe crabs and certain other arthropods) have blue blood due to the presence of copper-based hemocyanin in their blood.