''Obamus coronatus'' is a torus-shaped
Ediacaran
The Ediacaran Period ( ) is a geological period that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period 635 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Cambrian Period 538.8 Mya. It marks the end of the Proterozoic Eon, and th ...
fossil from the
Rawnsley Quartzite Rawnsley is a family name; it may refer to:
;People
* Andrew Rawnsley (born 1962), British political journalist
* Brenda Rawnsley (1916-2007), British arts campaigner and arts education activist
* David Rawnsley (1909–1977), British art director ...
of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
named in honor of former American President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
by the lab of
Mary L. Droser.
Morphology
The fossils show a multi-ridged body embedded in the
biofilm
A biofilm comprises any syntrophic consortium of microorganisms in which cells stick to each other and often also to a surface. These adherent cells become embedded within a slimy extracellular matrix that is composed of extracellular ...
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
A cruller () is a deep-fried pastry like a doughnut popular in Europe and North America often made from a rectangle of dough with a cut made in the middle that allows it to be pulled over and through itself, producing twists in the sides of the ...
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.
The specific epithet, ''coronatus'', meaning "equipped with a wreath" (or "crowned"), refers to the torus or ring-shape of the fossils.
See also
*
List of things named after Barack Obama
This is a list of things named after Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. This list includes proposed name changes.
Biota
Barack Obama has been commemorated in the scientific names of at least 14 species, the most of any U.S. ...
*
List of organisms named after famous people (born 1950–present)
In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person. A taxon (e.g. species or genus; plural: taxa) named in honor of another entity is an eponymous taxon, and names specifically honoring a person or persons are ...
References
Ediacaran life
Monotypic genera
Fossils of Australia
Fossil taxa described in 2020
Species named after Barack Obama
{{Ediacaran-stub