The 2-inch long creature is approximately 30 to 50 times longer than it is wide and has “post-cecal terminal genitalia.” | Journal of Parasitology Researchers name new parasite after Barack Obama

For those who believe that politicians are parasites comes a form of vindication today. In the Journal of Parasitology, a new species of parasite has entered the scientific taxonomy: Baracktrema obamai.

Thomas R. Platt, the journal article’s co-author and Obama’s fifth cousin, twice removed, chose the name and believes that the president should consider it an honor. In fact, the retired biology professor told The Associated Press that the parasite reminds him of the president: “It’s long. It’s thin. And it’s cool as hell.”


The 2-inch long creature is approximately 30 to 50 times longer than it is wide and has “post-cecal terminal genitalia.” It lives in the lungs of two species of freshwater turtles found in Southeast Asia. Both species are considered threatened with extinction.

“The new genus further differs from all other accepted turtle blood fluke genera by having a cecum that is highly convoluted for its entire length, a spindle-shaped ovary between the cirrus sac and testis, a uterine pouch that loops around the primary vitelline collecting duct, a Laurer’s canal, and a dorsal common genital pore,” the researchers wrote.

Obama on Thursday wrapped up his trip to Southeast Asia, where he has been selling the virtues of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. If ratified, signatories to the deal would have to fulfill international obligations to protect endangered and threatened species, including both turtle species that host Baracktrema obamai.

It’s not the first parasite to be named after the president: In April, 2012, the University of New Mexico announced that a new species of hairworm was discovered near Obama’s father’s birthplace in Kenya. Named Paragordius obamai, the hairworm is unique because it can reproduce without a male.

In addition to parasites, Obama has been the inspiration behind the naming of a trapdoor spider, a lichen, a brightly colored fish and an ancient lizard named “Obamadon.”

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