Researchers have discovered a new species of parasitic flatworms inhabiting turtles and has named it Baracktrema obamai, detailing their work in a study published in The Journal of Parasitology. They “face incredible obstacles to complete their [life cycles] and must contend with the immune system of the host in order to mature and reproduce,” he said in a statement. Parasitologists are also of the belief that the turtle parasites could be the possible ancestors of the flatworms that are spreading the disease Schistosomiasis in developing countries and affecting millions of people. They have a common ancestor called George Frederick Toot, who lived in Middletown, Pennsylvania, between 1759 and 1815. “Baracktrema obamai will endure as long as there are systematists studying these remarkable organisms.”

The turtle worm joins a long list of creatures named for Obama, which includes a lichen, an extinct lizard (the "obamadon"), a species of trapdoor spider and another parasite. Characterized by threadlike bodies, the parasite was most prominently observed in the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis), freshwater turtles and the Malaysian box turtle (Cuora amboinensis).
Baracktrema obamai, a new species of parasite is named after Barack Obama.