Obamus
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]
| Obamus Temporal range: Ediacaran ~ | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist's reconstruction | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Genus: | †Obamus |
| Species: | †O. coronatus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Obamus coronatus Dzaugis et al., 2020 | |
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.[2]
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
- 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.
- 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: 1–20. doi:10.1017/pab.2023.9. ISSN 0094-8373. S2CID 257521294.
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