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Obamus

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Obamus
Temporal range: Ediacaran ~555 Ma
Artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Genus:
Obamus
Species:
O. coronatus
Binomial name
Obamus coronatus
Dzaugis et al., 2020

Obamus coronatus is a torus-shaped Ediacaran fossil from the Rawnsley Quartzite of South Australia named in honor of former American President Barack Obama by the lab of Mary L. Droser.[1]

Morphology

The fossils show a multi-ridged body embedded in the biofilm of the original environment, with one end of the body tucked into or beneath the other end to form a ring, so that the living organism would have resembled a French cruller doughnut.[citation needed]

Etymology

The generic epithet honors President Obama, partly in reference to his love and patronage of the sciences, and allegedly because the fossil organisms resemble his ear.[1] The specific epithet, coronatus, meaning "equipped with a wreath" (or "crowned"), refers to the torus or ring-shape of the fossils.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Dzaugis, P. W.; Evans, S. D.; Droser, M. L.; Gehling, J. G.; Hughes, I. V. (2020). "Stuck in the mat: Obamus coronatus, a new benthic organism from the Ediacara Member, Rawnsley Quartzite, South Australia". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences. 67 (6): 897–903. Bibcode:2020AuJES..67..897D. doi:10.1080/08120099.2018.1479306.