Oh, look -- it's ... colored.
Posted on 12/02/2012 6:36:13 PM PST by Red Steel
The species, formally known as 'Etheostoma obama,' is one of five newly discovered fish that scientists have named after a U.S. president or VP.
President Obama may not have won many Southeastern states in his recent re-election, but he did make waves across the Republican-leaning region. And thanks to two scientists from Georgia and Missouri, his Southern profile is still growing — although some of his flashiest new acolytes don't have a clue who he is.
That's because they're fish, one of five new species found by ecologist Steve Layman of Geosyntec Consultants and biologist Rick Mayden of Saint Louis University. All five are darters, a small, speedy perch living in rivers and creeks around North America. Nearly 200 species are known to science, from the abundant rainbow darter to more obscure varieties that exist only in a single stream. The males' colorful stripes, spots and speckles form distinctive patterns that help scientists identify species.
The researchers decided to name each of the newfound darters after a U.S. president or vice president with environmental cred, and the first name on their list was Obama. Thus, the spangled darter — a 2-inch Tennessee native whose males have vivid orange, blue and green scales — will be Etheostoma obama from now on. As Layman and Mayden tell Scientific American, Obama earned the honor by taking a more holistic approach to ecological issues than most of his predecessors.
"We chose President Obama for his environmental leadership, particularly in the areas of clean energy and environmental protection, and because he is one of our first leaders to approach conservation and environmental protection from a more global vision," the researchers said. Aside from Obama, Layman and Mayden named the other darters after three presidents and a VP who are also known for making conservation a priority: Theodore Roosevelt (Etheostoma teddyroosevelt), Jimmy Carter (E. jimmycarter), Bill Clinton (E. clinton) and Al Gore (E. gore).
None of the new fish are thought to be endangered, but darters' small habitats often provide little buffer against ecological changes. E. obama, for example, seems to live mainly on two rivers in Tennessee, and while its population may be healthy now, it could be threatened by anything from leaking gas or coal ash to a drought, flood, or fertilizer runoff. Still, Layman reassures Scientific American there's "currently no concern about the population numbers in the wild of these five new species."
As rare of an honor as it is to become the eponym for an entire species, this isn't Obama's first taxonomic rodeo. In 2009, his name was also bestowed to a previously unknown species of lichen. "I named it Caloplaca obamae to show my appreciation for the president's support of science and science education," researcher Kerry Knudsen of University of California-Riverside said in a press release at the time.
CC
Must be a bottom feeder. Or a parasite. Or bisexual..maybe all of those.
Must be a bottom feeder. Or a parasite. Or bisexual..maybe all of those.
What idiots.
If they were my neighbors I’d shun them.
Wait a minute. IO didn’t check before posting. Have I been Semmens’d?
CC
It’s the real deal. Obama the fish.
Sucker fish?. Steelhead destroying everything in its path?
Honestly, these enviro whacks nauseated me almost as much as Zerofish.
“Must be a bottom feeder...”
LOL!!
E. Obama? Really? Sounds like a nasty bacteria...much more fitting.
Rotenone will take clean it out.
The fish rots from the head.
(The jokes will write themselves)
A fish won’t do anything, but swim in a brook.
He can’t write his name or read a book.
To fool the people is his only thought,
And though he’s slippery, he still gets caught.
But then if that sort of life is what you wish,
You may grow up to be a fish.
—Johnny Burke
Are there fish which, far from sucking, instead wish to BE sucked...?
Oh, look -- it's ... colored.
That nearly caused the arrival of vomit. LOL!
A mighty fishy story, me thinks.
Darters? Huh? How much trouble and unemployment has the Snail Darter in California caused?
I say let’s have a national fish-fry and solve the Darter problem once and all. Eat all of them so that we won’t have to waste time and money on their existence.
One thing though: I thought a major fish had already been named after Bill Clinton - The Blowfish, or was it the Sperm Whale?
Same for Al Gore - The Blowfish (you ever seen one inflated? Looks just like Al (and Michael Moore). Nasty set of teeth and attitude.
Jimmy Carter has a fish named after him - The Clown Fish.
Obama should have a Cuttlefish named after him because they can change their color to fit in with any environment. On land he should have a Chameleon named after him.
Hillary has a reptile named after her - The Gila Monster.
Michele Obama has the Stargazer named after her. A bottom-dwelling predator with a nasty set of teeth and attitude to match.
Pelosi - The Scorpion Fish - poisonous to the Nth.
Harry Reid - easy - The Octopus, full of poisonous ink (The Blue Ring Octopus), lots of arms so that he can dip them into a lot of money-making ventures at the taxpayers’ expense, and a sharp beak to bite you with.
In fact, the whole Democratic Congress is like a swimming pool full of dead fish - smells like hell, will kill you if you try to eat them, and serve no purpose in life.
Now, about Helen Thomas.
**WHO in the hell gave the damn order to NOT rescue our men in Benghazi?**
I was expecting some new species of Myxine.
but RAT Fish is already taken...
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