A newly discovered amphibian is about to be officially named Dermophis Donaldtrumpi, after the incumbent US president. The people who picked the name say its behavior reminds them of Trump's stance on climate change.
The caecilian amphibian, which looks like a 10-cm earthworm, is said to be blind, and displays the interesting trait of burrowing into the ground with its head.
"It is the perfect name," says Aidan Bell of EnviroBuild. "Caecilian is taken from the Latin caecus, meaning ‘blind', perfectly mirroring the strategic vision President Trump has consistently shown towards climate change."
Trump has long been skeptical that climate change is driven by humans, and the topic is still often debated. Critics of the idea say that the climate on Earth undergoes extremely long-term oscillations, and, compared to natural processes, human activity is barely a drop in the sea. The UN, on the other hand, accepts climate change as a human driven and serious problem, and has attempted to enact global-scale environmental initiatives to combat it.
A blind creature that buries its head in sand will be named Dermophis donaldtrumpi after Donald Trump. It looks kind of slimy too.
— BF Nagy (@BFNagy) 18 декабря 2018 г.
https://t.co/LgFlcPGRsG RT@guardianeco pic.twitter.com/6hngrUJD5O
In November, US government issued a National Climate Assessment that found that climate change is going to get worse, unless the governments and businesses implement carbon emissions limits, a process that impedes the economic development substantially. Responding to the report, Trump said he "doesn't believe it."
Dermophis Donaldtrumpi is not the first species to be named after the incumbent president. His trademark hairstyle is now also the namesake of a poisonous furry caterpillar, a moth and a golden-plumed pheasant. Some 13 animals species and one fungus species have been named after Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama.
