Two new organisms, that lived in the shallow oceans between 580-540 million years ago, were discovered recently by a team of researchers led by UC Riverside. The researchers lovingly named them after Barack Obama and David Attenborough.
The researchers write about the new names -
- Obamus coronatus, a name that honors President Barack Obama’s passion for science. This disc-shaped creature was between 0.5-2 cm across with raised spiral grooves on its surface. Obamus coronatus did not seem to move around, rather it was embedded to the ocean mat, a thick layer of organic matter that covered the early ocean floor.
- Attenborites janeae, named after the English naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough for his science advocacy and support of paleontology. This tiny ovoid, less than a centimeter across, was adorned with internal grooves and ridges giving it a raisin-like appearance.
These soft-bodied animals are some of the earliest life forms, that lived in shallow oceans in the Ediacaran period, between 540 and 580 million years ago. These animals, part of the Ediacara Biota, are visible as fossils cast in fine-grained sandstone and have been preserved for hundreds of millions of years.
According to the researchers, led by Prof. Mary Droser, these animals have not yet been organized into the hierarchical taxonomic classification system; little is known about how these animals relate to modern animals.
The striking resemblance of these fossilized animals with Obama’s distinctive ears is duely noted.
The fossils for these animals were discovered in a particularly well-preserved fossil bed in the Flinders Ranges region of South Australia. The prolific fossil bed has been dubbed by Mary Droser and her colleagues as “Alice’s Restaurant Bed,” a tribute to the Arlo Guthrie song and its lyric, “You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant.”
Here is a video of Prof. Mary Droser, presenting her research in 2016.
Other Organisms named after Obama
This is not the first organism named after Obama. Obama is understandably very popular among scientists and researchers. Here are a few of nature’s creatures, living and ancient, named after Obama -
Taxon (Name)
|
Organism Type
|
Aptostichus barackobamai
|
Spider, found in northern California
|
Spintharus barackobamai
|
Spider, found in the Caribbean islands |
Nystalus obamai
(video)
|
Bird, from Bolivia |
Caloplaca obamae
|
Lichen, found on Santa Rosa Island, CA
|
Obamadon gracilis
|
Extinct reptile, 66 million years ago
|
Paragordius obamai
|
Horsehair worm, found in Kenya
|
Baracktrema obamai
|
Parasitic flatworm, found in Malaysian turtles |
Etheostoma obama
(Obamafish!)
|
A very rare Fish, from eastern North America
|
Tosanoides obama
|
Fish, discovered in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii. |
Obamus coronatus |
Extinct soft-bodied animal from the Ediacaran Period, 580-540 million years ago |
The fish was discovered during a June 2016 NOAA expedition to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The fish was named after Obama to recognize his efforts to protect and preserve the natural environment, including the expansion of Papahānaumokuākea.
Epilogue
There is is no chance that Trump will find out any of this from the empty WH office of science and technology. But if he did, his tiny head will explode, enviously. And John Kelly will pacify him by pointing out the organism — Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, the “blonde-haired moth with small genitals”.
Getting an organism named after you is a big honor. David Attenborough, who has had quite a few species named after him, once said that having a biologist name a new discovery after you is the “biggest of compliments that you could ask from any scientific community.”
We wrote a diary several moons ago on other organisms named after famous people at www.dailykos.com/…. Enjoy.
Further Reading
- Two New Creatures Discovered from Dawn of Animal Life — ucrtoday.ucr.edu/…
- Stuck in the mat: Obamus coronatus, a new benthic organism from the Ediacara Member, Rawnsley Quartzite, South Australia
- You can get anything you want from Alice’s Restaurant Bed: exceptional preservation and an unusual fossil assemblage from a newly excavated bed (Ediacara Member, Nilpena, South Australia)
- List of organisms named after famous people — en.wikipedia.org/…
- Famously Named Organisms — www.dailykos.com/…
- Happy Birthday Sir David Attenborough — www.dailykos.com/...