A team of scientists from Yale and Harvard have named an extinct lizard after President Obama.
The Obamadon gracilis – literally “Obama Slender Tooth” – was wiped out 65.5 million years ago when an asteroid struck the edge of the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Obamadon likely measured less than a foot and ate insects, according to the Yale News. Its distinguishing feature is its tall, slender teeth, the researchers write.
One of them, Nicholas R. Longrich, a postdoctoral associate with Yale’s Department of Geology and Geophysics, denied any political intent in naming a lizard after Obama.
“We’re just having fun with taxonomy,” he said.
In the illustration below, Obama can be located in lower left hand corner – the blue lizard looking on as a large carnivorous Paleosaniwa stalks a pair of hatchling Edmontosaurus.
While the modern Obama is not known to eat insects, he does hunt and kill them.
H/T to Byron Tau at Politico 44.