Respiratory pigment

A respiratory pigment is a molecule, such as hemoglobin in humans, that increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. The four most common invertebrate respiratory pigments are hemoglobin, haemocyanin, haemerythrin and chlorocruorin. Hemoglobin is red when oxygenated, and blue when deoxygenated, oxygenated haemocyanin is blue in color, deoxygenated is almost colorless. Oxygenated chlorocruarin turns green where oxygenated haemeryhrtin is a violet to pink colour, and colorless when deoxygenated. All vertebrates use the hemoglobin respiratory pigment.