Someone just paid $25,000 to name a worm-like amphibian after Donald Trump

Donald Trump’s name is attached to a lot of things — Trump Towers, Trump University, The Trump Foundation (oops nevermind) — and now, Dermophis donaldtrumpi — a four-inch-long, worm-like amphibian from Panama.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi isn’t the first species to get a presidential naming treatment. President Obama has an watery namesake as well — he earned his by expanding a marine protected area around the Northwestern Hawaiian islands. And President Trump had a species of yellowish-”haired” moth named after him (Neopalpa donaldtrumpi) in 2017. But this newest addition to the Trump family name does not derive not from its physical similarity to the president. Rather, the species’ tendency to bury its head (and body) in the sand drew parallels to Trump’s persistent denial of climate change.

The naming rights for the species were auctioned off to raise money for Rainforest Trust. Dermophis donaldtrumpi is a caecilian, a word derived from the Latin for “blind.” The winning bidder, Aidan Bell, is the head of a sustainable building materials company called EnviroBuild, and wound up spending $25,000 to make the environmental and political jab.

In a post on EnviroBuild’s blog, Bell wrote: “The dermophis genus grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat, a behavior known as dermatrophy. As a method of ensuring their children survive in life, Donald Trump prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office.”

But Dermophis donaldtrumpi may not be with us for much longer. The caecilian has a thin skin (sound like anyone we know?), and like other amphibians, is especially vulnerable to the impacts of global warming. Will President Trump think and act any differently, knowing that his namesake is on the line?</s>A wriggling amphibian which can only see in black and white (and which literally buries its head in the sand) has been named after President Donald Trump.

Sustainable housing company Envirobuild bid £19,800 at auction for the right to name the worm-like Panamanian amphibian Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

The company says that it chose the limbless creature because of Donald Trump’s policies on climate change – and how both the amphibian and the president tend to see things in black and white.

The company wrote in a blog post, ‘Caecilians is taken from the Latin Caecus meaning “blind”, and have rudimentary eyes which can only detect light or dark.

‘Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese.’

‘The amphibians live almost entirely underground, believed to have lost their limbs at least 60 million years ago, as an adaptation to burrowing.

‘Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry.’

Even more unkindly, the company also drew attention to a similarity between the burrowing creature and Donald Trump’s approach to looking after their offspring.

The company said, ‘The dermophis genus grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat, a behaviour known as dermatrophy. As a method of ensuring their children survive in life Donald Trump prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office.’

The name will still have to undergo peer review by biologists, the company says – but several other animals are already named after US presidents.

The company said, ‘As Demorphus donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies.’</s>A London-based business specializing in sustainable building materials says it has paid $25,000 to name a newly discovered genus of wormlike amphibian after President Donald Trump.

EnviroBuild announced Tuesday that it would be using Dermophis donaldtrumpi as the name for the caecilian — an amphibian with no legs and poor eyesight. The business says the name still will need to undergo peer review, but that other animals have been named after presidents in the past.

Co-founder Aidan Bell authored a blog post that likened the qualities of the animal, which is native to Panama, to Trump.

"Caecilians is taken from the Latin Caecus meaning 'blind,'" the post says. The animals can only see light and dark.

"Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese," Bell wrote.

Rainforest Trust announced the auction in November, saying it sells naming rights for newly discovered animals to raise money for conservation. Traditionally, naming privileges have been given to scientists who discovered an animal, but the organization says it has been breaking with that tradition to raise money for 25 years.

Dec. 17: Teen activist calls out climate leaders: 'You are not mature enough'

Dec. 11: Almost all of the oldest, thickest ice in the Arctic Ocean is gone due to climate change

The caecilian burrows its head underground, a trait the blog likened to Trump's position on climate change: "Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

The post also criticizes the high-profile positions given to Trump's children and references the Mueller investigation.

In November, Trump cited his intelligence as a reason for his skepticism surrounding climate change. That came on the heels of a 1,600-page National Climate Assessment, issued by the Trump administration, which detailed the climate and economic impacts U.S. residents are projected to see if drastic action is not taken to address climate change.

EnviroBuild isn't the first to name an animal after Trump. In January 2017, a scientist named a tiny moth Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, Time reports.

Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari chose the name partly to draw attention to U.S. environmental policies and partly because he believed the moth resembled Trump's hair style, according to Time.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to members of the news media while holding a meeting with governors-elect and members of his administration, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 13, 2018.</s>A worm-like creature that lives underground was named after President Donald Trump because of his attitude toward climate change.

EnviroBuild, a company that makes sustainable building materials, paid $25,000 to name the limbless amphibian Dermophis donaldtrumpi as part of a fundraiser for the Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

Aidan Bell, EnviroBuild's cofounder, said in a statement on Tuesday that for Trump, "burrowing" his head underground helps him "when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change" and appointing energy lobbyists to the Environmental Protection Agency, "where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

As Dermophis donaldtrumpi "is an amphibian," Bell said, "it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake's climate policies."

"EnviroBuild is not an overtly political organisation, but we do feel very strongly that everyone should do everything they can to leave the world in a better way than they found it," he added.

The Dermophis donaldtrumpi. EnviroBuild

The company also shared an edited image of the creature with Trump-like hair on its head.

The creature was recently discovered, Bell said, and the name still has to undergo a peer review, "something that biologists EnviroBuild have spoken to had stressed the importance of, but multiple species are named after Presidents, and this amphibian will soon join the vulnerable list."

It is not the first creature named after Trump. In early 2017, a small moth with yellowish-white scales that look like hair was named Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.

Read more: Small moth with yellowish coif named after Donald Trump

Trump on climate change

In November, Trump said he didn't believe the findings of his own administration's report on the effects of climate change and the economic impact it is predicted to have on the US.

The report's findings were dire, including that the average temperature could increase by as much as 11 degrees by the end of this century.

The president also contradicted the scientific consensus on climate change when he said earlier that year that he believes it could reverse on its own.

Read more: Trump says he doesn't believe his own administration's report on the economic impact of climate change

He has also diminished the impact of humans on the planet.

"We do have an impact, but I don't believe the impact is nearly what some scientists say, and other scientists dispute those findings very strongly," he said in November.</s>Newly discovered amphibian has been named after Donald Trump

United States presidents tend to receive their fair share of honors, but Donald Trump may want to ignore his latest one. A newly discovered amphibian that buries its head in the sand has been named after him, apparently in response to his comments about climate change.

The Dermorphis donaldtrumpi, which was discovered in Panama, was named by the head of a company that had bid US$25,000 at auction for the privilege. The company said it wanted to raise awareness about climate change.

[Demorphus donaldtrumpi] is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake's climate policies, said EnviroBuild co-founder Aidan Bell in a statement.

The small, blind, creature is a type of caecilian that primarily lives underground, and Mr Bell drew an unflattering comparison between its behaviour and Mr Trump's.

Burrowing [his] head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change, he wrote.

The world's leading scientists agree that climate change is primarily human-induced.

But Mr Trump, whose administration has pursued a pro-fossil fuels agenda, has accused those scientists of having a political agenda and cast doubt on whether humans were responsible for the Earth's rising temperatures.

I don't know that it's manmade, he said in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes in October. I'm not denying climate change but [temperatures] could very well go back, he added, without offering evidence.

Last month, Mr Trump questioned a report by his own government that found climate change would cost the US hundreds of billions of dollars annually and damage health. I don't believe it, he told reporters at the time.

 After taking office he announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, which commits countries to keeping a limit on rising global temperatures.

He justified this decision by asserting that he had been elected to serve the citizens of Pittsburgh and not Paris and the deal disadvantaged US businesses and workers.</s>With its behavior bearing a striking resemblance to the commander in chief’s attitude toward climate change, it seemed fitting that the limbless animal be named Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company, paid $25,000 for the honor of naming the creature as part of a fundraiser for the Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation group.

“EnviroBuild is not an overtly political organization, but we do feel very strongly that everyone should do everything they can to leave the world in a better way than they found it,” co-founder Aidan Bell wrote in a statement.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi.

New amphibian species named after the person elected by US people as president. https://t.co/PSCf5R7CZF pic.twitter.com/NpNG3Ogc9S — Tibor Hartel (@harteltibor) December 18, 2018

“As Demorphus donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies.”

Bell told The Guardian the name was “perfect.”

“Caecilian is taken from the Latin caecus, meaning ‘blind,’ perfectly mirroring the strategic vision President Trump has consistently shown towards climate change,” he said.</s>A London-based business specializing in sustainable building materials says it has paid $25,000 to name a newly discovered genus of wormlike amphibian after President Donald Trump.

EnviroBuild announced Tuesday that it would be using Dermophis donaldtrumpi as the name for the caecilian — an amphibian with no legs and poor eyesight. The business says the name still will need to undergo peer review, but that other animals have been named after presidents in the past.

Co-founder Aidan Bell authored a blog post that likened the qualities of the animal, which is native to Panama, to Trump.

"Caecilians is taken from the Latin Caecus meaning 'blind,'" the post says. The animals can only see light and dark.

"Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese," Bell wrote.

Rainforest Trust announced the auction in November, saying it sells naming rights for newly discovered animals to raise money for conservation. Traditionally, naming privileges have been given to scientists who discovered an animal, but the organization says it has been breaking with that tradition to raise money for 25 years.

Dec. 17: Teen activist calls out climate leaders: 'You are not mature enough'

Dec. 11: Almost all of the oldest, thickest ice in the Arctic Ocean is gone due to climate change

The caecilian burrows its head underground, a trait the blog likened to Trump's position on climate change: "Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyists to the Environment Agency, where their job is to regulate the energy industry."

The post also criticizes the high-profile positions given to Trump's children and references the Mueller investigation.

In November, Trump cited his intelligence as a reason for his skepticism surrounding climate change. That came on the heels of a 1,600-page National Climate Assessment, issued by the Trump administration, which detailed the climate and economic impacts U.S. residents are projected to see if drastic action is not taken to address climate change.

EnviroBuild isn't the first to name an animal after Trump. In January 2017, a scientist named a tiny moth Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, Time reports.

Canadian scientist Vazrick Nazari chose the name partly to draw attention to U.S. environmental policies and partly because he believed the moth resembled Trump's hair style, according to Time.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks to members of the news media while holding a meeting with governors-elect and members of his administration, in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on Dec. 13, 2018.</s>A newly discovered amphibian, with a propensity for burrowing its head in the ground, is to be officially named Dermophis donaldtrumpi, after Donald Trump and his stance on climate change.

The name was chosen by UK sustainable building materials company, EnviroBuild, after it won naming rights at an auction held to raise money for Rainforest Trust.

The creature, discovered in Panama, is a caecilian — a legless, burrowing amphibian. It also has rudimentary eyes which can only detect light or dark. “Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese,” said EnviroBuild co-founder Adrian Bell in a statement.

The amphibians also live almost entirely underground, believed to have lost their limbs at least 60 million years ago, as an adaptation to burrowing. This same behavior, according to EnviroBuild, also “helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change.”

“As demorphis donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, it is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies,” Bell said.

Trump has long been known to be skeptical of climate change. “Global warming is a total, and very expensive, hoax,” he tweeted in 2013.

In November, he dismissed a study produced by his own administration warning of the potentially catastrophic impact of climate change. “I don’t believe it,” he had told reporters, CNN reported.

EnviroBuild paid $25,000 for the naming rights at the auction, and according to Bell, the opportunity to name a species, which is usually reserved for biologists who spend often painstaking years in the field, was too good an opportunity to miss.

“The name will still have to undergo peer review, something that biologists EnviroBuild have spoken to had stressed the importance of, but multiple species are named after Presidents, and this amphibian will soon join the vulnerable list,” he said.</s>A company that won the right to name a newly discovered amphibian has decided to call it Dermophis donaldtrumpi, after United States President Donald Trump. The animal belongs to the group of caecilians, which have rudimentary eyes that can detect only light and dark. Trump, too, “must see the world in black and white to think climate change is a hoax”, the company EnviroBuild said.

The sustainable building materials company said it had won an auction to name the creature for a bid of $25,000 (approximately Rs 17.59 lakh).

The company said the US president is the “perfect namesake” for the Panamanian caecilian. Justifying the name further, it said the animal lives almost entirely underground. “Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus” on climate change, the company said.

Further, the animal “grows an extra layer of skin which their young use their teeth to peel off and eat”, while Trump, “as a method of ensuring their children survive in life, prefers granting them high roles in the Oval Office”, said EnviroBuild.

The firm’s co-founder Aidan Bell said the company will work towards creating awareness about climate change. “[Dermophis donaldtrumpi] is particularly susceptible to the impacts of climate change and is therefore in danger of becoming extinct as a direct result of its namesake’s climate policies,” said Bell.

The company was referring to Trump’s repeated claim that there is no real evidence to prove climate change. The president has often ridiculed those who believe it exists. Trump had previously suggested that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese to harm United States manufacturers with environmental regulations.

In June 2017, Trump had announced his decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change agreement, where nations had agreed on measures to restrict a rise in global temperatures.</s>The group EnviroBuild bought the naming rights for the creature in an auction for $25,000.

President Donald Trump has a long list of things that bear his name, from hotels to presidential administrations, and now he is able to add animals to the group.

As reported by The Guardian, a newly discovered blind and burrowing creature has been officially given the name Dermophis donaldtrumpi, chosen by the head of the company EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company.

The business bought the name rights for the creature at an auction sponsored by Rainforest Trust, paying $25,000 to give it its new presidential name that was inspired by Trump’s consistent denial of climate change.

“Capable of seeing the world only in black and white, Donald Trump has claimed that climate change is a hoax by the Chinese,” EnviroBuild’s co-founder Aidan Bell wrote in a statement on the company’s website on Tuesday, December 18, referencing the caecilian creature’s lack of eyesight.

President Trump has denounced the concept of climate change for years, even before taking over the presidency, and has frequently taken to his favorite social media platform of Twitter to dispute the idea.

Bell also touched on the capability of the dermophis genus to grow an extra layer of skin that their young later peel off and eat, comparing the method, known as dermatrophy, to President Trump granting his children positions within the Oval Office to ensure their “survival in life.”

The newly discovered creature tends to spend a majority of its life underground, another characteristic that Bell found it shares with the president.

“Burrowing its head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change and also appointed several energy lobbyist to the Environmental Agency, where their job is to regulate the industry,” Bell explained.

As previously reported by the Inquisitr, President Trump recently announced he would be nominating former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to take over as the next administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi is an amphibian, meaning, Bell pointed out, it is incredibly susceptible to the impacts of climate change, putting it at great risk for extinction as a “direct result” of the climate policies enacted by its namesake.

Bell noted that his company is not “overtly political,” but finds it important that humans should do their best to leave the planet in a better state than how it was when they entered the world.

Dermophis donaldtrumpi is not the first creature to draw comparisons to the president, The Guardian noted, citing a poisonous furry caterpillar and a golden-plumed pheasant that has been found similar to his iconic hair style. Another creature was also given a Trump-inspired name — a yellow-crowned moth discovered in 2017 dubbed Neopalpa donaldtrumpi.
EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company, pays $US 25,000 to name a newly discovered limbless amphibian Dermophis donaldtrumpi, after U.S President Donald Trump, in disagreement with his environmental policy.