The heart of a shrimp is located in its thorax, which is the section of its body that lies behind the head and in front of the abdomen. Specifically, the heart is situated just beneath the carapace, the hard shell that covers the upper part of the shrimp’s body.
Unlike mammals, shrimp have an open circulatory system. This means that their blood (hemolymph) is not entirely contained within blood vessels but flows freely around the internal organs. The heart pumps hemolymph into the body cavity, where it bathes the organs before returning to the heart. Because of this unique system, the heart plays a crucial role in circulating nutrients and oxygen throughout the shrimp’s body, despite its simplistic structure compared to vertebrates.