Scientists have named a small maroon and gold fish
species after the U.S. President Barack Obama which was discovered 300
feet deep in the waters off Kure Atoll in the Pacific ocean.
The
fish, of the genus Tosanoides, was named in honour of Obama for his
commitment to protecting nature through the expansion of the
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, researchers said.
It was discovered in June 2016 during a research trip to Kure, the world’s northernmost atoll.
Atolls ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of corals.
The
fish is found only within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National
Monument, a World Heritage site encompassing 1,510,000 square kilometres
of ocean waters, including ten islands and atolls of the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands.
The site is the largest swath of
protected land or water on Earth, and is home to millions of seabirds,
endangered turtles, endangered monk seals, and more than 7,000 species.
Richard
Pyle, a marine biologist at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, was underwater
when he first saw a group of fish he did not recognise, the ‘National
Geographic’ reported.
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