A purple-colored organic compound that is a type of porphyrin, often found in fossils and ancient sediments.
From Greek 'aitia' (cause) + 'porphyra' (purple) + '-in'. This term was coined in organic chemistry to describe a specific degradation product of chlorophyll and hemoglobin.
Geologists use etioporphyrin as a chemical fingerprint to detect ancient oil and find fossils—it's proof that dead organisms have left their molecular signatures millions of years in the earth!
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