A new species of parasitic worm was discovered inhabiting the lungs of Malaysian freshwater turtles. The blood fluke which belongs to the flatworm family has been named Baracktrema obamai, in honor of US President Obama.
The parasite is specified in the "Journal of Parasitology" August issue with a long string-like body. During the study, B. obamai was found thriving in the lungs of two freshwater turtles - the Southeast Asian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis) and in the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis). Scientists discovered hundreds of fluke eggs in clusters in the turtles' alveoli which are tiny sacs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. However, it is not well-defined how these eggs hatch and contaminate new victims, according to Popular Science.
The parasite was discovered by researchers when they purchased the amphibians from trappers way back 2008. The turtles were necropsied and the blood flukes were preserved.
Thomas Platt said in a press release that the effort is a lasting tribute. He is the co-author of "Journal of Parasitology" and a turtle parasite expert who found out and gathered the new genus. Though the species is a parasitic flatworm, in the scientific world, the deed is deliberated an honor still, the PBS News Hour reported.
"I have named a number of species after people I admire. "Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms."
The discovery was the last that Platt classified before his retirement at Saint Mary's College. During his administration, he classified 32 species and was motivated to classify Baracktrema obamai after finding out that he and the US president impart a common ancestor.
The newly-discovered species might be associated with parasitic worms that inflict humans with schistosomiasis, no harmful symptoms appear in the turtles and it seems that the host is not affected at all.