Coral Reef Fish Named After Barack Obama, A Tribute To His Efforts To Protect And Preserve Marine Biodiversity

A new species of pink and yellow coral reef fish was discovered in 2016 during the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Expedition in to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, in the Hawaiian Islands. Randall Kosaki, Richard Pyle and Brian Greene are given the credit of the discovery and it was decided that the fish will be named in honor of President Barack Obama, as homage to his efforts to establish and expand the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

The Hawaii democrat senator, Brian Schatz, along with various other conservationists and marine scientists urged that the fish be named after Barack Obama, as a recognition to the efforts made by him to add an extra 582,578 square miles of area and create the world's largest protected marine monument, which will provide protection to 7,000 indigenous species. Finally, the decision was taken and the fish was named as Tosanoides Obama, Hindustan Times reported.

Richard Pyle, Bishop Museum scientist, said, "We decided to name this fish after President Obama to recognise his efforts to protect and preserve the natural habitat, including its expansion." He also stressed on the fact that "The expansion of Papahanaumokuakea adds a layer of protection to one of the last great wilderness areas on Earth."

The discovery was published in ZooKeys, open-access scientific journal. The fish is endemic to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument region and was first collected during a 300 feet dive made at Kure Atoll, 1,200 miles northwest of Honolulu.

According to the publication, the male Tosanoides Obama fishes have a blue spot with red and yellow stripes on the dorsal fin near the tail, which reminds of the logo of President Obama's presidential campaign, according to The TeCake.

Earlier, few other species have also been named after President Barack Obama. Tosanoides Obama is the latest addition to the list, which is preceded by a trapdoor spider, a speckled freshwater darter (a type of fish), a parasitic worm and an extinct lizard.