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Alien Life on this Planet — Channichthyidae
Under the ice of the Weddell Sea, 60 million fish come to breed.
These fish are Neopagetopsis ionah, a member of the Channichthyidae, commonly known as “icefish.”
And they are an example of how life doesn’t always follow the rules we think it does.
The Uniqueness of Icefish Blood
We all know what color blood is. All vertebrates on this planet have iron-based blood (some invertebrates use copper or magnesium) which ends up, well, red.
Blood red is a color. It’s likely that this is partially why “red” means stop (the other possible reason being fire).
All vertebrates, that is, except icefish.
Icefish aren’t called that because they live in extremely cold water. They are called that because they look like they are made of ice…light colored and translucent.
And their blood is equally colorless. Icefish are the only adult vertebrates that don’t produce hemoglobin.
Instead, they transmit oxygen by dissolving it directly into their plasma.
Why do Icefish Have White Blood?
So, why do icefish have white blood?