And now, three scientists have came up with the ideal way of thanking him for his efforts.
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While politicians across the world have been honoured by naming monuments and cities after them over the years, US President Obama seems to be setting a new trend as his name is being immortalised by naming species of fish after him.
Hawaii-based marine biologists Randall Kosaki, Richard Pyle and Brian Greene plan to name a colorful, newly discovered fish species after the president.
Scientists chose to name a fish species discovered in the Hawaii’s Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument after the local-born president in honor of his decision to expand the site, turning it into the largest nature reserve in the world, according to National Geographic.
Earlier, a species of darters found only in the Duck River and the Buffalo River in United States was named Etheostoma obama in 2012.
“It just seemed like the ideal fit”, Pyle said.
Obama on Thursday accepted a framed plague of the fish, commenting, “Am I wrong here, or is there a familiar name in the middle of this?” “This is a nice-looking fish”.
A few minutes later, Pyle collected a male specimen for studies.
Researchers confirmed that the fish represented a new species, the first member of the genus Tosanoides found outside of the waters off Japan. A species of darters found only in the Duck River and the Buffalo River in USA was named Etheostoma obama in 2012. It’s covered with a red spot ringed with blue, bearing resemblance, according to the scientists, to Obama’s campaign logo.
The species is found only within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a World Heritage site encompassing 1,510,000 square kilometres of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
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“Endemism is an important concept in conservation because when you’re trying to decide (what areas) to protect, (choosing) areas with high endemism means that you’re not just protecting one population of that species, you’re protecting the entire global population of that species”, Pyle said.
