Global InformationBaracktrema obamai information
| Baracktrema | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia
|
| Phylum: | Platyhelminthes
|
| Class: | Trematoda
|
| Order: | Diplostomida
|
| Family: | Spirorchiidae
|
| Genus: | Baracktrema Roberts et al., 2016
|
| Species: | B. obamai
|
| Binomial name | |
| Baracktrema obamai Roberts et al., 2016
| |
Baracktrema obamai is a species of blood fluke, found in Malaysian freshwater turtles. The discovery prompted the creation of a new genus, Baracktrema. It was discovered in 2015 by a team of American parasitologists led by Thomas R. Platt, and named after U.S. President Barack Obama.[1]
B. obamai is likely an ancestor of the parasitic flatworms that cause schistosomiasis. It infects the lungs of host turtles, but is not currently known to infect humans. B. obamai is classified as a parasitic flatworm.[2]
B. obamai has been seen to infect two kinds of turtles, the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis) and the Amboina box turtle (Cuora amboinensis). Both turtles are found in Malaysia.
- ^ Sarah Kaplan (September 9, 2016). "Scientists like Barack Obama so much that they named a parasite after him". The Washington Post.
- ^ Roberts, Jackson R.; Platt, Thomas R.; Orélis-Ribeiro, Raphael; Bullard, Stephen A. (2016). "New Genus of Blood Fluke (Digenea: Schistosomatoidea) from Malaysian Freshwater Turtles (Geoemydidae) and its Phylogenetic Position Within Schistosomatoidea". Journal of Parasitology. 102 (4): 451–462. doi:10.1645/15-893. PMID 27042972. S2CID 30035139.