Do crabs/lobsters have a heart? (Vegeterians, please avoid this question!)?

Question

My grandmother had brought live crabs for a bbq once (we want them fresh!) And she had yanked off the claws (which im amazing since i would be scared to death!)

I realized that they didnt bleed at all!

Later DURING the barbeque, i had asked my parents why it didnt bleed. We (well I) came to the conclusion that crabs dont bleed cause they dont have a heart. But that makes no sense!

Answer 1

Crabs and lobsters do have a heart, and they do have a brain. And they do bleed - but you wouldn't recognize it as blood because it doesn't look like your blood. It's a clear fluid instead of a red-colored fluid. Any living creature needs to have nutrients pumped through their system so they can stay alive, grow, mature, reproduce and all that stuff. And the heart of that pumping system (no pun intended) is the heart. Check out a book on biology. You should be able to find one in your local library that shows crustaceans and other sea creatures and illustrates where their vital organs are located. They also feel pain, although people who pull the claws off say they don't, that is a fallacy. They do.

Answer 2

Crabs and lobsters do have a heart, and they do have a brain. And they do bleed - but you wouldn't recognize it as blood because it doesn't look like your blood. It's a clear fluid instead of a red-colored fluid. Any living creature needs to have nutrients pumped through their system so they can stay alive, grow, mature, reproduce and all that stuff. And the heart of that pumping system (no pun intended) is the heart. Check out a book on biology. You should be able to find one in your local library that shows crustaceans and other sea creatures and illustrates where their vital organs are located. They also feel pain, although people who pull the claws off say they don't, that is a fallacy. They do.

Answer 3

Crabs and lobsters also don't have the same kind of blood as us. The blood they have pigmented with "hemocyanin." Instead of turning red when it carries oxygen, it turns blue-green!

As for the heart, yes there is a heart-type structure along the upper (dorsal) side of its body). It looks like a tubular chain of bulbs.

But most crabs and lobsters have open circulatory systems, so the blood isn't enclosed in a system of veins and arteries. it just kinda washes over the organs to provide nutrition.

Answer 4

Lobster Circulatory System

Answer 5

Depends on the crab! Most act just like insects, where they have an "open circulatory system." This type of system allows the organs of the creature to bathe in the "blood" (or comparable solution) rather than have it pump through a series of closed bloodways.

Now, SOME shellfish have developed very simple circulatory systems.

Neat huh.

Answer 6

don't know