A red pigment or protein found in certain organisms, particularly in some fish and marine animals.
From Greek 'erythros' meaning 'red' combined with the suffix '-in' used for chemical compounds and proteins. The term emerged in the 19th century as scientists began classifying biological pigments.
Erythrin is one of nature's lesser-known color factories—while hemoglobin gets all the glory for making blood red, erythrin does similar work in completely different creatures, showing how evolution found the same solution multiple times.
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