In honor of his contributions to marine life conservation in Hawaii, a newly discovered fish species will be named after U.S. President Barack Obama.
On Thursday, Sept. 1, the Hawaii-born president visited the tiny historical island of Midway Atoll to draw attention to the conservation of the region against climate change. Midway Atoll is a remote coral reef prominent for being a battleground during the Second World War, and is now the home of seabirds, sea turtles and monk seals.
"I look forward to knowing that ... 100 years from now, this is a place where people can still come to and see," Obama tells The Guardian.
Just days before, the White House announced plans to create the largest marine reserve off the coast of Hawaii. The proposal includes the expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea (pronounced "Papa-ha-now-moh-koo-ah-kay-ah") Marine National Monument so that it will cover 582,578 square miles of land and sea.
The Obama Fish
The newly discovered, colorful fish species in the genus Tosanoides was found 300 feet deep in the waters off Kure Atoll by a team of scientists in June.
Kure Atoll is the world's northernmost coral atoll and is among the jewels of Papahānaumokuākea because the 17 genera and 22 species residing there only exist in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands. Kure Atoll also has the highest marine endemism rate ever recorded, according to the National Geographic.
During a research dive to Kure, Hawaii-based marine biologist Richard Pyle discovered the tiny 1.5-inch long fish. Pyle says he was underwater when he first caught a glimpse of a group of orange-pink fish he did not recognize.
A few minutes later, Pyle collected a male specimen for study. A female fish was collected a few days after by Brian Greene, a Bishop Museum affiliate.
Pyle and his team then confirmed that the fish is a new species. It is the first member of the genus Tosanoides located outside of Japan, researchers say. What's more, the maroon and gold fish is considered the only known fish to live within Papahānaumokuākea, making it "very special."
When asked why the scientists named the fish after the president, Pyle says, "It just seemed like the perfect fit."
Furthermore, Pyle says the male fish's dorsal fin coloration — circular red spot with blue — reminded them of the current president's previous campaign logo.
And on Thursday, during Obama's visit to Midway Atoll, he was presented with a framed plaque of his new namesake, given by National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle.
In the meantime, Pyle and colleagues plan to publish a formal description of the new species and its official name later this year, but they will not reveal the moniker in print until then.
