Due to the different body sizes and characteristics, the hearts of each animal species are also diverse in size and characteristics. At rest, the human heart beats 60 to 80 times a minute, but during the same period, the heart of a hibernating hedgehog only beats 5 times and the heart of a hummingbird can reach 1,260 beats. . A human heart weighs about 0.6 pounds (0.3 kg), while a giraffe's heart weighs about 25 pounds (11 kg). Let's take a look at the species with the most special hearts in the animal world through the list below.
Frogs
Daniel Mulcahy, a research associate specializing in amphibians and reptiles at the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Natural History in Washington, said mammals and birds have four-chambered hearts, but that number is only three. in frogs. In most species, the heart is responsible for taking deoxygenated blood from the body to the lungs for oxygen and supply to other organs. In humans, oxygenated blood and deoxygenated blood are contained in separate compartments. But in frogs, grooves called trabeculae keep oxygenated blood separate from deoxygenated blood in the same compartment.
Mulcahy said frogs can get oxygen not only from their lungs but also from their skin. When deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium, it is directed into the ventricles and then to the lungs and skin for oxygen. Even more bizarre is that the hearts of frogs can be frozen. The heart of wood frogs completely stops beating when the frog is frozen during hibernation.
Whale
The heart of the blue whale holds the record for the largest in the animal kingdom alive today. It was about the size of a small car and weighed about 430 pounds (430 kg), said James Mead of the department of vertebrates at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Like other mammals, the whale's heart has four chambers. When blue whales dive deep into the ocean, their heart rate slows down to 4 beats per minute, which helps them prolong their breathing during the dive and can even reduce decompression sickness.
The blue whale is the largest and heaviest living animal that has ever existed, its mouth can swallow an 11-player soccer team and its heart is the size of a 4-seater car. In general, blue whales in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are smaller than individuals in waters near Antarctica. However, average values in the range of 150-170 tons were recorded for individuals 27 m long. An individual 30 m in length according to the National Marine Mammal Laboratory of the United States (National Marine Mammal Laboratory) reaches 180 tons. The largest blue whale identified by scientists here is a female with a mass of 177 tons.
A giant animal means that its body parts are also "huge", for example the blue whale's tongue is estimated to average about 3 tons. While the average weight of an elephant is only about 2.7 tons, which means that the tongue of a blue whale is heavier than an elephant.
Even blue whales are superior in size to extinct creatures like dinosaurs. One of the largest dinosaur genera of the Mesozoic is Argentinosaurus, weighing only 90 tons, about the same size as the average blue whale. Whereas the long-necked dinosaur often seen in movies or science shows, Amphicoelias fragillimus, although reaching a length of 58 meters, is estimated to weigh 122.4 tons, still lighter than the blue whale.
Octopus and squid
Known for possessing up to 3 hearts in one body, mollusks like squid, octopus maintain respiration by pumping oxygen through blood vessels with 2 hearts on either side of the body while fruit The central heart will transport oxygen to the rest of the organs. Cephalopods (mollusks) also have literal blue blood because they contain the element copper in their blood.
Octopuses have 8 tentacles, this feature is reflected in their scientific name, derived from the Greek: ὀκτώπους means "eight legs". These arms are a type of muscular hydrostatic chamber. Unlike most other mollusks, most octopuses in the suborder Incirrina have whole soft bodies without internal skeletons. They do not have a protective outer shell like a snail or any vestige of an inner shell or bone, like a sea squirt or squid. A parrot-like object is the only sturdy part of the octopus. It helps the octopus to slip through the crevices of the reef when fleeing from predators. Octopuses in the suborder Cirrina have two fins and an inner shell that reduces their ability to squeeze into small spaces.
Octopus has a relatively short life cycle, with some species living only 6 months. The giant North Pacific octopus can live up to 5 years in ideal conditions. However, reproduction is one of the causes of the short life span: male octopuses can live only a few months after mating, and female octopuses die shortly after nesting. bloom.
Octopus has 3 hearts. Two hearts pump blood through the gills while the third heart pumps blood throughout the body. Octopus blood contains hemocyanin-rich protein that carries oxygen. Less effective than the iron-rich erythrocytes of vertebrates, haemocyanin is dissolved in plasma instead of red blood cells and gives the blood its blue color. Octopuses put water into the chambers and then through the gills. Like other mollusks, octopuses have gills that are divided and have blood vessels wrapped around them.
Cockroaches
Like other insects, cockroaches have an open circulatory system, which means their blood is not filled with blood vessels. Don Moore III, a senior scientist at Smithsonian National Park in Washington, D.C., said blood in cockroaches flows through a single structure with 12 to 13 compartments.
"Cockroaches and other insects breathe through openings in the surface of the body instead of the lungs, so the blood doesn't need to carry oxygen from one place to another," says Moore. Instead of blood, this substance is called hemolymph, which contains nutrients and is white or yellow in color. The cockroach's heart also does not beat on its own. Muscles in the cavity expand and contract to help the heart send hemolymph to the rest of the body.
The heart of wingless cockroaches is usually smaller than that of flying cockroaches, and their hearts beat at the same rate as the human heart.
Of the 4600 species of cockroaches, about 30 live in close proximity to humans. About four species of cockroaches are known to be pests. The earliest cockroach-like fossils date from the Carboniferous period, about 354–295 million years ago. However, these fossils differ from modern cockroaches in that they have long egg-laying organs and are the ancestors of both mantises and modern cockroaches. The first fossils of modern cockroaches with egg-laying organs in their bodies appear in the early Cretaceous.
Worm
You want to "capture" the heart of the worm? That's impossible because of the fact they don't have a heart. Instead, the worm has five pseudobulbs that wrap around its esophagus. These prosthetics don't pump blood, but squeeze blood vessels to help circulate blood throughout the body. It also has no lungs and absorbs oxygen through its moist skin. Earthworms have red blood that contains hemoglobin, an oxygen-carrying protein, but unlike humans, worms have an open circulatory system.
One very interesting property of earthworms is the ability to regenerate living organisms. If the earthworm is unfortunately split in half, they can still live without the rest. However, the two separate parts are still of the same person. Earthworms absolutely cannot form two new individuals when separated.
Earthworms have the ability to regenerate lost segments, but this ability depends on the individual species. Besides, if the injury is too severe, they cannot survive. Contrary to what many people think, if an earthworm is cut in half, they will not grow back into two new worms. At this point, the front half of the body containing the head of the worm can continue to live and regenerate its tail. Instead, the other half containing the worm's tail cannot grow a head on its own and will die.
Earthworm has a very simple habitat, is an animal that often lives in wet environments, shifting fields, fields,.... In general, all places with moist soil will have earthworms forming and growing on their own. In particular, places with a lot of organic humus have a greater number of earthworms.
Zebrafish
The zebrafish is also a species with a unique heart. In addition to an atrium and a ventricle, they have two structures never seen before in humans: the venous sinus (a sac located in front of the atria) and the ductus arteriosus (a tube located just behind the ventricle).
But why is the heart in fish so textured? Because fish gills are very fragile and can be damaged if the blood pressure is too high. The bulbus ducts themselves are very elastic compared to the muscular nature of the ventricles.
Besides, the zebrafish heart can regenerate. When a zebrafish suffers heart damage, it can immediately regenerate a new one to replace it. Research shows that zebrafish can regenerate 20% of damaged heart muscle in just two months. The heart of this fish has only one atrium and one ventricle and has two completely different structures than the human heart.
The zebrafish or zebrafish is a species of freshwater fish in the family Carp, order Carp. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, commonly sold under the trade name zebrafish danio (and therefore often referred to as "tropical fish" although it is both a tropical fish and a tropical fish. subtropical fish). The zebrafish is an important vertebrate model organism and is widely used in scientific research, for example in drug development, especially in preclinical development. It is also notable for its reproducibility, and has been modified by researchers to produce many transgenic strains.
The zebrafish is named for its five horizontal, pigmented, blue stripes on the side of the body, reminiscent of the stripes of a zebra, and extending to the end of the caudal fin. Its shape is spindle-shaped and is compressed laterally, with the mouth facing upwards. Males are torpedo-shaped, with yellow stripes between the blue stripes; females have larger bellies, are white, and have silver stripes instead of gold. Adult females have a small genital papilla in front of the base of the anal fin. Zebrafish can grow up to 4–5 cm long, although they are usually 1.8–3.7 cm long in the wild with some variation depending on location. Its lifespan in captivity is about two to three years, although in ideal conditions this can extend to more than five years. In the wild, it is usually an annual species.
lamprey myxini
The lamprey myxini is a strange sea fish shaped like an eel and can secrete up to nearly 4 liters of slime. This slime is fibrous and wraps around the lamprey like a cocoon to protect them. The whole body of the myxini lamprey is quite strange, including the rudimentary vertebrae and the shape of the skull.
But the strangest thing is that they have 4 hearts. One heart has the main job of pumping blood, it is called the brachial heart, while the other three hearts play a supporting role. The heart of the sucker fish has been distributed in many different areas of the body.
The lamprey is one of the few ancient creatures that still exists today. They appeared and existed on the earth more than 300 million years ago. The sea lamprey, also known as the ninja fish, has the English name Petromyzon marinus, which is a parasitic fish. They occur most often in the Atlantic Ocean as well as the Mediterranean Sea.
Lampreys have a fairly long body, an average adult ninja fish can reach 90cm in body size. Lampreys have smooth, stout skin, no bones, only white cartilage that stretches along the body. About color: Lampreys usually have 2 common colors, white brown and dark gray on the back and belly. In addition, lampreys are also gifted with a lot of slime secretion systems along the length of the body. When encountering sea water can produce liters of oily solution in a short time.
Hummingbirds
The human heart normally beats 72 beats per minute, but at the same time, the heart of animals like hummingbirds beats 1,260 times during flight. The hummingbird's heart rate can be pushed up to 1200 times/minute, and their breathing rate is 250 times/minute.
In addition, the Hummingbird, an exotic bird, holds many records in the bird world such as the fastest flight speed, the only bird that can fly backwards, the smallest bird. Here are 19 interesting things about hummingbirds, invite you to explore. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards because their wings can move freely in the direction of their shoulders. This special structure also allows the hummingbird to fly in one place and keep the bird's head fixed. Hummingbirds are famous for their ability to flap their wings extremely fast with a frequency of 70-80 times per second. With a length of about 8cm, weighing from 2 to 20 grams, hummingbirds are the smallest birds on Earth.
According to hummingbird experts, this tiny bird has very good eyesight, allowing them to see food from about 1.3km away. The hummingbird nest is very small, about the size of an English walnut. Hummingbirds have about 400 species, they live mainly in the tropics, near the equator. Hummingbird brains are only the size of a grain of rice, but they have a super memory when it comes to finding food. Hummingbirds can remember which flowers they used to suck nectar from and the time it takes for a flower to regenerate nectar.
The red-throated hummingbird is about 7-9 cm long, weighs about 2.83 grams and can migrate more than 600 miles (965km). Only male red-throated hummingbirds have red throats. As an adult, the male red-throated hummingbird is smaller than the female. Female hummingbirds do everything without help from the male, from building nests to laying eggs to taking care of their young.
Giraffe
The human heart weighs about 0.3kg but the giraffe weighs up to 12kg because this species needs a strong heart to be able to pump blood through its long neck. Giraffes have a very large heart, they weigh about 12kg. When a giraffe lifts its head, the blood vessels on its head divert most of its blood to the brain, but not to other parts of the head such as cheeks, tongue or skin. At the same time, its thick skin and a strange bundle of muscles in its veins - veins usually have no muscles - add blood pressure to the veins so that the veins can carry blood from the head back to the heart.
Blood will rush to the giraffe's head when it lowers its head to the ground and blood pressure will double. When the animal raised its head to nibble on the leaves, the blood receded rapidly.
This is the same for us. You may feel unsettled if you hang yourself upside down and your face will turn red, you quickly turn yourself upside down. If your blood pressure is too low to get enough blood to your brain, you can go into a coma.
With a long neck, giraffes spend most of their time moving their head from low to high and so they need to take measures to keep the blood flow to the brain so that they don't get dizzy. Scientists once thought that the blood vessels in the giraffe's neck help carry blood from the heart to the brain. However, research by Mitchell's shows that they use a very powerful pump to bring blood to the brain and their blood pressure is twice as high as ours.
Polar bears
Winter in the Arctic, the temperature drops very low, leading to very scarce food. Polar bears tend to lower their heart rate to conserve energy during hibernation. Their sleep is usually not deep. Heart rate decreased from 70 times to 8 times / minute, body temperature did not change. They can wake up immediately when needed. When in burrows, they do not eat and live off of their body fat; During this time, they do not defecate or urinate.
When the ambient temperature drops, making it difficult to find food, polar bears begin to hibernate. Polar bears also have a layer of fat up to 10 cm thick to help keep the body warm, even when the temperature drops to -40 degrees Celsius. Polar bears are very insulators, if observed with infrared cameras, we can only see them. only their feet. Therefore, when the winter conditions are not favorable, or when the female bears are pregnant, they just crawl into the burrow, curl up and sleep to avoid the cold and save energy.
Despite hibernating for a long time, polar bears almost always preserve their strength and muscular strength. They will recover from a hibernation lasting about three months, but retain more than three-quarters of their muscle strength without the need for a single drop of food or water. If humans were also immobile for the same amount of time, they would lose about 90% of their strength.
Many other animals are also forced to go to sleep in the winter because they can't run away, can't find food, or don't have thick fur to keep warm, they have to choose the form... sleep (just save energy). , hiding from predators and from the cold) like marmotte rats, or brown bears of the Pyrenees, they sleep for 6 months straight.
Above are the top animals with the strangest hearts on the planet today that Toplist learns and provides to readers. Follow along to know more interesting things about the animal world in the following articles.
