Definitions for "Haemocyanin"
A respiratory compound containing copper found in the blood of many invertebrates, including cephalopods, and similar to the iron-based haemoglobin in human blood. Haemocyanin has a bluish colour. In cephalopods, the haemocyanin is not found in corpusdes but is dissolved in the blood plasma. Its main purpose is to bind with oxygen from the sea water as it passes through the gills, and then to yield that oxygen to tissues elsewhere in the body where required. Compared with haemoglobin, haemocyanin is less efficient and carries less oxygen. This may be one reason that cephalopods lack the stamina of similar sized fishes.
copper based molecule which transports oxygen in the fluid of the body cavity