Bacteriochlorophyll b (bchl b) has been isolated from the halophilic photosynthetic bacterium, Ectothiorhodospira halochloris. The pigment and a series of derivatives thereof are different from Bchl b from Rhodopseudomonas viriais by HPLC analysis, but similar by uv-vis spectroscopy. The chromatographic difference originates in different esterifying alcohols in the two pigments. The one from Rp. viridis (Bchl bp) is esterified with ⊿2-phytaenol (phytol), that from E. halochloris (Bchl b⊿2,10) with ⊿2,10-phytadienol. The structure of the latter has been established by isolation of the alcohol from the purified pigment, followed by (i) gaschromatography-mass spectroscopy and (ii) ozonolysis and dinitrophenylhydrazon-formation of the cleavage products, which were identified by gaschromatography-mass spectroscopy as 6-methyl-heptan-2-one, and 4-methyl-nona-1,8-dione.