Because the worm represents both a new genus and a new species, Bullard said that it is a “double honor” to have both taxonomic levels named for the president.
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Considering the unusual characteristics of the group of turtle parasites, the American parasitologists’ team chose to categorize them into a separate genus and added as a new species.
Scientists have discovered a new parasitic flatworm that lives in turtles’ blood and they have affectionately named it after Barack Obama. Platt has discovered 32 new species throughout his career. He has previously named other species after people he admired, like his father-in-law, PhD advisor, and even good friends.
Platt, who discovered the flatworm, told the Philadelphia Inquirer the name was not meant to poke fun at or insult President Obama.
Platt said Baracktrema obamai reminds him of the president because it’s “long, thin and cool as hell”.
Platt said Baracktrema obamai is a “phenomenally, incredibly resilient” organism.
The Baracktrema obamai are a distant relative of the parasitic flatworm which causes schistosomiasis, a destructive human ailment which affects millions of people, particularly in the developing world. For him, it is an honor to have named the last species after the POTUS, saying that “Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms”. The study, funded by the National Science Foundation, “emphasized the fact that freshwater turtles worldwide are increasingly vulnerable to poaching and habitat loss; many species are threatened or endangered”, the journal said.
The co-author of the journal article on the parasite is Obama’s fifth cousin, Thomas R. Platt.
“I respect them. I love them dearly”.
The researchers made the discovery by purchasing the turtles from trappers in 2008, according to the study.
Although names are usually bestowed as an honour, Sukhedo admits once or twice parasites have been named as a tool of revenge – something Platt says isn’t the case here.
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Interestingly, President Obama has seven other species named after him, including another parasite, a trapdoor spider, an extinct insect-eating lizard and a fish.
