Obamus
Appearance
Obamus Temporal range: Ediacaran ~
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artist's reconstruction | |
Scientific classification | |
(unranked): | |
Genus: | †Obamus
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Species: | †O. coronatus
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Binomial name | |
†Obamus coronatus Dzaugis et al., 2018
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Look up obamus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Obamus coronatus is a torus-shaped Ediacaran fossil from the Rawnsley Quartzite of South Australia named in honor of former American President Barack Obama.[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.
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 "wreath," refers to the torus or ring-shape of the fossils.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Dzaugis, P. W.; Evans, S. D.; Droser, M. L.; Gehling, J. G.; Hughes, I. V. (2018). "Stuck in the mat: Obamus coronatus, a new benthic organism from the Ediacara Member, Rawnsley Quartzite, South Australia". Australian Journal of Earth Sciences: 1–7. doi:10.1080/08120099.2018.1479306.