A respiratory pigment is a molecule, such as hemoglobin in humans and other vertebrates, that increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood [one of the function]. The four most common invertebrate respiratory pigments are hemoglobin, hemocyanin, hemerythrin and chlorocruorin.
other functions
•respiratory pigments function in oxygen transfer in cellular respiration.
•Respiratory pigments also pick up carbon dioxide from our tissues and bring it to our lungs, where we exhale it.