The CHIEF September 2026

Fact FUN By Vanessa Burkett

Have you ever wondered how an animal as small as a shrimp fits all its organs into its body? Well, oddly enough, shrimp and a few other crustaceans crawling around on the ocean floor have had a major organ seemingly replaced by another. Their hearts aren't in their chests; no, that would be way too normal for these sea dwellers. Instead, their hearts are located in their heads! Their brains seem to have been pushed all the way up against their eyes and have shrunken significantly sometime in their 300 million years here on Earth. Shrimps specifically have hearts 3X the size of their brains, which is only a ¾ of a millimeter difference, but to a tiny shrimp that's a big deal! However, this isn't even the biggest abnormality for these algae-eating critters, since their stomachs are located right in front of their hearts and happen to take up half of their whole body. You’d think that they’d store something in those big ‘ol tails of theirs, but all their vital organs are nice and cozy in their heads, and for good reason too! A shrimp has an exoskeleton protecting their head from any other sea creature wanting a quick snack. So next time you're in the seafood aisle and think you want a bite to eat, maybe walk past those shrimp.