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Obamus

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Obamus
Temporal range: Ediacaran ~555 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Incertae sedis
Genus: †Obamus
Dzaugis et al., 2020
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.

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 partly because the fossil organisms resemble his ear. The specific epithet, coronatus, meaning "equipped with a wreath" (or "crowned"), refers to the torus or ring-shape of the fossils.

See also

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. Boan, Phillip C.; Evans, Scott D.; Hall, Christine M. S.; Droser, Mary L. (2023-03-13). "Spatial distributions of Tribrachidium, Rugoconites, and Obamus from the Ediacara Member (Rawnsley Quartzite), South Australia". Paleobiology. 49 (4): 601–620. Bibcode:2023Pbio...49..601B. doi:10.1017/pab.2023.9. ISSN 0094-8373. S2CID 257521294.
  3. "Obama's Ears Inspired the Name of this 550-Million-Year-Old Critter". Live Science. 21 June 2018.


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