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U.S. President Barack Obama has been honored in a unique way.

Researchers have discovered a new species of parasitic flatworms inhabiting turtles and has named it Baracktrema obamai, detailing their work in a study published in The Journal of Parasitology. Parasites are beautiful and resilient, so the researchers saw naming their discovery after Obama as an act of honor.

According to lead researcher Dr. Thomas R. Platt, the idea to name the parasite after the U.S. president came after he discovered that they are related: fifth cousins, twice removed. They have a common ancestor called George Frederick Toot, who lived in Middletown, Pennsylvania, between 1759 and 1815.

Long and thin and "cool as hell," the newly christened parasitic flatworms infect turtles.

"They 'face incredible obstacles to complete their journey (life cycle) and must contend with the immune system of the host in order to mature and reproduce,'" Platt said.

Platt, who is a retired professor of biology at Saint Indiana's Mary's College, called the parasite phenomenally incredible and eliciting profound respect.

"Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms," he added.

Considering the unusual characteristics of the group of turtle parasites, the American parasitologists' team decided to categorize them into a separate genus and added as a new species. Characterized by threadlike bodies, the parasite was most prominently observed in the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis), freshwater turtles and the Malaysian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis).

Once inside a turtle, the parasites penetrate the lungs and lay hundreds of fluke eggs. However, it is unclear how they infect the hosts in the first place.

Parasitologists are also of the belief that the turtle parasites could be the possible ancestors of the flatworms that are spreading the disease Schistosomiasis in developing countries and affecting millions of people.

In August, the death of thousands of fish prompted the closure of the popular Yellowstone River in Montana, as well as hundreds of miles of other waterways.

According to the state wildlife officials, the deaths were caused by a parasite not native to the area. This means it was likely introduced by people through contaminated boats or fishing waders or other means, although it is also possible for birds to have acquired the virus from another area and transported it to Montana.

Decontamination stations were set up by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to help stem the problem. The agency also advised the public to be more mindful of cleaning their equipment when moving between bodies of water.

ⓒ 2018 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. </s> Last week, a new species of flatworm discovered in Malaysia was named after President Barack Obama as Baracktrema obamai.

The scientist making this designation, Thomas R. Platt, chose Mr. Obama, a distant relative, and a person Mr. Platt admires.

Right away another new flatworm has been discovered, in New York waters, and it will be named after former mayor of New York, Mr. Rudy Giuliani.

This time the honor is bestowed by Dr. Vertiginal Waymouth, with scientific designation for the new worm Giuliatrema nonsequituriai.

Dr. Waymouth has explained that his choice of Mr. Giuliani is based on two factors: a) the former mayor's logic on Iraq, recently expounded on ABC News; and b) metaphorical applications of the worm's habits to national security.

The new species is again a parasite infecting a host target and implanting eggs that endure and allow reproduction of the worm itself.

Part a) of the honor for Mr. Giuliani derives from his saying to ABC's George Stephanopoulus that the US should have seized Iraq's oil when it had a chance, before leaving in 2011, because in war "Anything's legal."

That is, taking the oil and putting the U.S. in charge of distributing it would have prevented its being used by the terrorists.

This theft would be legal, Mr. Giuliani believes, because war allows it. But legal experts have pointed out that seizing Iraq's oil would have been illegal, based on international law for at least the last 100 years.

Nonetheless, Mr. Giuliani argues that with Iraq's oil under the invader's lock and key, the defeated Sunnis would have been content to sit back and watch TV.

Having no oil to peddle to places like Turkey, ISIS would have been without supporting funds and ability, probably causing wide-spread sighing plus wringing of hands in the sense of "Nothing to be done."

The new governing class Shia in Iraq would have been happy to have the question of who controls and owns the oil off their hands.

They would have sat back, saying, "The Americans have taken this burden of our oil off our hands! What a relief! And of course we accept their decisions on how our oil should be shared out to the oil companies and so forth."

In part b) of Dr. Waymouth's reasoning, the remarkable similarity of the policy Mr. Guiliani is proposing for the US, and the flatworm's behavior, is almost startling.

That is, the flatworm sneaks into its host, attacks and occupies it, and seizes its resources for growth and reproduction. The host withers.

Pentagon strategists are reported interested in these developments, with Flatworm Stealth Programs and Flatworm Special Forces under study. </s> President Obama waves as he boards Air Force One after the closing ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Noel Celis/AFP/Getty Images)

Other presidents have mountains named after them. They're the namesakes for high schools, boulevards, space centers, libraries, airports, and elk. George Washington has the capital of our country named for him, for crying out loud.

But how many of them have the dubious honor of being the namesake for a parasitic worm?

World, meet Baracktrema obamai, a deadly turtle pathogen named in honor of our current president. Believe it or not, it's supposed to be a compliment.

The new genus and species of parasitic flatworm was introduced this week in an article in the Journal of Parasitology. The tiny creatures, which are the thickness of a human hair, invade the lungs of freshwater turtles in Malaysia, often with deadly consequences.

Thomas Platt, a turtle disease expert who discovered the new species shortly before his recent retirement from St. Mary's College, said that the name is meant to honor President Obama — not gross him out. Though most people (understandably) aren't big parasite fans, Platt has a deep respect for the resilient little creatures.

They “face incredible obstacles to complete their [life cycles] and must contend with the immune system of the host in order to mature and reproduce,” he said in a statement.

[To save Darwin's finches from devastation, scientists breed hordes of blood-sucking maggots]

Platt's research also revealed that the worm is a relative of members of the genus Unicaecum, another turtle parasite. And both are more distant relatives of the worms that cause the disease schistosomiasis in humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, schistosomiasis infects as many as 200 million people in the year, second only to malaria as the world's most devastating parasitic illness. The worms crawl into their hosts' blood vessels and lay eggs, which can become lodged in victims' organs and cause fever, muscle pain, liver problems, even seizures or cancer.

Understanding Baracktrema obamai's relationship to Unicaecum can help scientists understand the evolutionary history of these parasitic diseases, Platt and his colleagues write. In turn, that will help researchers figure out how to treat them.

As he was delving into the phylogenetic tree of parasites, Platt had been conducting research on his own family history. In the process, he discovered that he shares a not-so-distant common ancestor with the president.

“I have named a number of species after people I admire, from my father-in-law, my PhD adviser, and good friends who are academics and/or amateur naturalists,” Platt said. “Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms.”

The turtle worm joins a long list of creatures named for Obama, which includes a lichen, an extinct lizard (the "obamadon"), a species of trapdoor spider and another parasite. At this rate, perhaps the president is looking forward to leaving office.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly characterized the genus Unicaecum. It is a parasite that infects turtles.

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Why bats ‘waggle’ their heads like adorable little puppies </s> Someone just paid $25,000 to name a worm-like amphibian after Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s name is attached to a lot of things — Trump Towers, Trump University, The Trump Foundation (oops nevermind) — and now, Dermophis donaldtrumpi — a four-inch-long, worm-like amphibian from Panama.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi isn’t the first species to get a presidential naming treatment. President Obama has an watery namesake as well — he earned his by expanding a marine protected area around the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. And President Trump had a species of yellowish-”haired” moth named after him (Neopalpa donaldtrumpi) in 2017. But this newest addition to the Trump family name does not derive not from its physical similarity to the president. Rather, the species’ tendency to bury its head (and body) in the sand drew parallels to Trump’s persistent denial of climate change.

The naming rights for the species were auctioned off to raise money for Rainforest Trust. Dermophis donaldtrumpi is a caecilian, a word derived from the Latin for “blind.” The winning bidder, Aidan Bell, is the head of a sustainable building materials company called EnviroBuild, and wound up spending $25,000 to make the environmental and political jab.

In a post on EnviroBuild’s blog, Bell wrote: “The dermophis genus grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat, a behavior known as dermatrophy. As a method of ensuring their children survive in life, Donald Trump prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office.”

But Dermophis donaldtrumpi may not be with us for much longer. The caecilian has a thin skin (sound like anyone we know?), and like other amphibians, is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Will President Trump think and act any differently, knowing that his namesake is on the line? </s> With its behavior bearing a striking resemblance to the commander in chief’s attitude toward climate change, it seemed fitting that the limbless animal be named Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company, paid $25,000 for the honor of naming the creature as part of a fundraiser for the Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

“EnviroBuild is not an overtly political organization, but we do feel very strongly that everyone should do everything they can to leave the world in a better way than they found it,” co-founder Aidan Bell wrote in a statement.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

New amphibian species named after the person elected by US people as president. https://t.co/PSCf5R7CZF pic.twitter.com/NpNG3Ogc9S — Tibor Hartel (@harteltibor) December 18, 2018

“As Demorphus donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies.”

Bell told The Guardian the name was “perfect.”

“Caecilian is taken from the Latin caecus, meaning ‘blind,’ perfectly mirroring the strategic vision President Trump has consistently shown towards climate change,” he said. </s> A worm-like creature that lives underground was named after President Donald Trump because of his attitude toward climate change.

EnviroBuild, a company that makes sustainable building materials, paid $25,000 to name the limbless amphibian Dermophis donaldtrumpi as part of a fundraiser for the Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

Aidan Bell, EnviroBuild's cofounder, said in a statement on Tuesday that for Trump, "burrowing" his head underground helps him "when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change" and appointing energy lobbyists to the Environmental Protection Agency, "where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

As Dermophis donaldtrumpi "is an amphibian," Bell said, "it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake's climate policies."

"EnviroBuild is not an overtly political organisation, but we do feel very strongly that everyone should do everything they can to leave the world in a better way than they found it," he added.

The Dermophis donaldtrumpi. EnviroBuild

The company also shared an edited image of the creature with Trump-like hair on its head.

The creature was recently discovered, Bell said, and the name still has to undergo a peer review, "something that biologists EnviroBuild have spoken to had stressed the importance of, but multiple species are named after Presidents, and this amphibian will soon join the vulnerable list."

It is not the first creature named after Trump. In early 2017, a small moth with yellowish-white scales that look like hair was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.

Read more: Small moth with yellowish coif named after Donald Trump

Trump on climate change

In November, Trump said he didn't believe the findings of his own administration's report on the effects of climate change and the economic impact it is predicted to have on the US.

The report's findings were dire, including that the average temperature could increase by as much as 11 degrees by the end of this century.

The president also contradicted the scientific consensus on climate change when he said earlier that year that he believes it could reverse on its own.

Read more: Trump says he doesn't believe his own administration's report on the economic impact of climate change

He has also diminished the impact of humans on the planet.

"We do have an impact, but I don't believe the impact is nearly what some scientists say, and other scientists dispute those findings very strongly," he said in November. </s> A London-based business specializing in sustainable building materials says it has paid $25,000 to name a newly discovered genus of wormlike amphibian after President Donald Trump.

EnviroBuild announced Tuesday that it would be using Dermophis donaldtrumpi as the name for the caecilian — an amphibian with no legs and poor eyesight. The business says the name still will need to undergo peer review, but that other animals have been named after presidents in the past.

Co-founder Aidan Bell authored a blog post that likened the qualities of the animal, which is native to Panama, to Trump.

"Caecilians is taken from the Latin Caecus meaning 'blind,'" the post says. The animals can only see light and dark.

"Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese," Bell wrote.

Rainforest Trust announced the auction in November, saying it sells naming rights for newly discovered animals to raise money for conservation. Traditionally, naming privileges have been given to scientists who discovered an animal, but the organization says it has been breaking with that tradition to raise money for 25 years.

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The caecilian burrows its head underground, a trait the blog likened to Trump's position on climate change: "Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

The post also criticizes the high-profile positions given to Trump's children and references the Mueller investigation.

In November, Trump cited his intelligence as a reason for his skepticism surrounding climate change. That came on the heels of a 1,600-page National Climate Assessment, issued by the Trump administration, which detailed the climate and economic impacts U.S. residents are projected to see if drastic action is not taken to address climate change.

EnviroBuild isn't the first to name an animal after Trump. In January 2017, a scientist named a tiny moth Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, Time reports.

Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari chose the name partly to draw attention to U.S. environmental policies and partly because he believed the moth resembled Trump's hair style, according to Time.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to members of the news media while holding a meeting with governors-elect and members of his administration, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 13, 2018. </s> The group EnviroBuild bought the naming rights for the creature in an auction for $25,000.

President Donald Trump has a long list of things that bear his name, from hotels to presidential administrations, and now he is able to add animals to the group.

As reported by The Guardian, a newly discovered blind and burrowing creature has been officially given the name Dermophis donaldtrumpi, chosen by the head of the company EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company.

The business bought the name rights for the creature at an auction sponsored by Rainforest Trust, paying $25,000 to give it its new presidential name that was inspired by Trump’s consistent denial of climate change.

“Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese,” EnviroBuild’s co-founder Aidan Bell wrote in a statement on the company’s website on Tuesday, December 18, referencing the caecilian creature’s lack of eyesight.

President Trump has denounced the concept of climate change for years, even before taking over the presidency, and has frequently taken to his favorite social media platform of Twitter to dispute the idea.

Bell also touched on the capability of the dermophis genus to grow an extra layer of skin that their young later peel off and eat, comparing the method, known as dermatrophy, to President Trump granting his children positions within the Oval Office to ensure their “survival in life.”

The newly discovered creature tends to spend a majority of its life underground, another characteristic that Bell found it shares with the president.

“Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyist to the Environmental Agency, where their job is to regulate the industry,” Bell explained.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, President Trump recently announced he would be nominating former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to take over as the next administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, meaning, Bell pointed out, it is incredibly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, putting it at great risk for extinction as a “direct result” of the climate policies enacted by its namesake.

Bell noted that his company is not “overtly political,” but finds it important that humans should do their best to leave the planet in a better state than how it was when they entered the world.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi is not the first creature to draw comparisons to the president, The Guardian noted, citing a poisonous furry caterpillar and a golden-plumed pheasant that has been found similar to his iconic hair style. Another creature was also given a Trump-inspired name — a yellow-crowned moth discovered in 2017 dubbed Neopalpa donaldtrumpi. </s> A company that won the right to name a newly discovered amphibian has decided to call it Dermophis donaldtrumpi, after United States President Donald Trump. The animal belongs to the group of caecilians, which have rudimentary eyes that can detect only light and dark. Trump, too, “must see the world in black and white to think climate change is a hoax”, the company EnviroBuild said.

The sustainable building materials company said it had won an auction to name the creature for a bid of $25,000 (approximately Rs 17.59 lakh).

The company said the US president is the “perfect namesake” for the Panamanian caecilian. Justifying the name further, it said the animal lives almost entirely underground. “Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus” on climate change, the company said.

Further, the animal “grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat”, while Trump, “as a method of ensuring their children survive in life, prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office”, said EnviroBuild.

The firm’s co-founder Aidan Bell said the company will work towards creating awareness about climate change. “[Dermophis donaldtrumpi] is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies,” said Bell.

The company was referring to Trump’s repeated claim that there is no real evidence to prove climate change. The president has often ridiculed those who believe it exists. Trump had previously suggested that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to harm United States manufacturers with environmental regulations.

In June 2017, Trump had announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, where nations had agreed on measures to restrict a rise in global temperatures.
Baracktrema obamai, a new species of parasite is named after Barack Obama.