570 XI. HEMOGLOBIN CATABOLISM, I 



hematin in the marine polychaete worm Aphrodite, "the sea mouse"; this 

 animal contains myohemoglobin and there is some evidence for the presence 

 of hematin compounds acting as respiratory pigments. In the larvae ("blood- 

 worms") of Chironomus, which contains hemoglobin, biliverdin was also 

 found U68). 



The biliverdin found in a protozoan living within the frog's intestine 

 (1661) is almost certainly absorbed as such from the host. The green pig- 

 ment of some oysters is probably derived from the phycocyanin of a diatom 

 ingested by the oyster (24.28). 



MacMunn's early observations (1831,1832,1834) bring good evidence for 

 the presence of biliverdin in sea anemones. The occurrence of bile pigments 

 in Coelenterata has been reviewed by Fox and Pantin (930). The calliactin 

 of Calliactis effoeta (C22 H20 O5 N4) is possibly a tetrapyrrolic pigment (Lederer 

 and co-workers, 1664). From Helioporacaerulea, biliverdinoid pigments have 

 been isolated by Tixier and Tixier-Durivault (2809b, 2810). 



The presence of biliverdin in some members of the Annelida has been men- 

 tioned above (990,2206,2604). 



Biliverdin has also been found in the digestive tract of crustaceans (327), 

 and perhaps in molluscs (958,2278). The sea-snail Aplysia contains bili- 

 violinoid and erythrinoid bile pigments as chromoproteins (563,914,1663). 

 The orange pigments of Arion and various pigments of Haliotis and Turbo 

 have been assumed to be bile pigments, but no convincing evidence had been 

 produced (57.5-577,1559,1586,1675,2473,2474)- The pigment of Arion is 

 probably not a pyrrole pigment, while the blue pigment of Haliotis cali- 

 forniensis has been claimed to be indigo by Schulz and Becker (1213, 2474)- 

 Recently, however, Tixier and Lederer (2809d) confirmed Lemberg's view 

 (1675) that the blue Haliotis pigment is a tetrapyrrolic derivative, while Tixier 

 (2809c) isolated a crystalline biliverdinoid pigment, "turboglaucobilin," from 

 Turbo species. According to Webb (3006) the "vanadium chromogen" of 

 Ascidians is a pyrrole pigment, perhaps related to biliverdin. 



Several instances of the occurrence of bile pigment in insects have been 

 mentioned above (468,1993,3072,3081). The rather confused claims of von 

 Linden (1747) on the occurrence of bile pigments in the butterfly Vanessa 

 should be reinvestigated. Okay (2073) found red and blue chromoproteins 

 resembling the algae chromoproteins phycoerythrin and phycocyanin, in the 

 green integument of Mantis. 



The green pigment of the bones and scales of the needlefish Belone has 

 been claimed to be biliverdin (389); cf., however (913a). According to Fon- 

 taine (913a) the blue and blue-green pigments of Cyclopteridae are bile 

 pigment chromoproteins related to the phycochromoproteins. 



13. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL FUNCTION 

 OF BILE PIGMENTS 



Bile pigments are mainly excretory products of hemoglobin break- 

 down, which appear in nature occasionally as ornamental pigments, 

 as in bHtterfly wings or birds' egg shells. Whether they have any 



