Respiratory pigments are metalloproteins that transport O2, the best known being the bright red/crimson coloured hemoglobin in human blood. The colour derives from Fe2+ at the core of a tetraporphyrin ring. But less well known is blue blood, and here the colour derives from an oxyhemocyanin unit based on Cu1+ (the de-oxy form is colourless) rather than iron. See below for the carapace of a red rock crab.