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There have been any number of failed attempts to name things here in honor of President Barack Obama, the most high-profile of which was Sandy Beach a couple of years ago.

But that futile record for recognizing the state’s most famous native son has finally come to a close.

Say hello to Tosanoides obama, a small pink-and-yellow fish discovered in June during a research expedition to the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Scientists from Bishop Museum, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Association of Marine Exploration on Wednesday published a description of the new species of coral reef fish in the scientific journal ZooKeys.

“It was a fish we weren’t expecting to find by any means,” said Richard Pyle, Bishop Museum scientist and lead author of the study.

Pyle said he and his colleagues decided to name the fish for Obama after he expanded the Papahanaumo­kuakea monument in August to more than four times its previous size, creating a sanctuary twice the area of Texas, the world’s largest permanent marine protected area.

Also, Pyle said, the spot on the fin of the male of the species bears a similarity to the Obama campaign logo, with stripes across a circle.

What does Obama think?

“I am deeply honored to have this fish named after me,” Obama told ocean explorer Sylvia Earle during a Sept. 1 presentation on Midway Island that was arranged and filmed by National Geographic.

The president was given a picture of the fish during a lighthearted exchange that will be featured in the National Geographic film “Sea of Hope: America’s Underwater Treasures,” scheduled for release Jan. 15.

“This is a nice-looking fish,” Obama remarked.

It is actually the second fish named for the Hawaii- born president. According to NOAA, the list of creatures named for Obama includes a speckled freshwater darter fish, a trapdoor spider and an extinct lizard.

The Obama fish is a kind of basslet, a colorful group of fish favored in the aquarium trade. There are two other species in the genus Tosanoides, both from the tropical northwestern Pacific, including southern Japan.

What’s unusual about the Obama fish, Pyle said, is that it’s the only known species of coral reef fish found only in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. All other reef fish within the monument are found either in the main Hawaiian Islands or Japan.

Pyle, a veteran diver and marine biologist who has helped to discover at least 24 fish species, was the first to spot the marine creature during the morning dive of June 5 at Kure Atoll, the northernmost outpost of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands 1,200 miles from Honolulu. No other coral atoll can be found at a higher latitude.

Pyle was diving deep below the ocean’s surface at 300 feet in an area known as the coral reef twilight zone, using advanced scuba gear with a mixed-gas system known as a closed-circuit rebreather. The water is dark and cold at that depth, so he was armed with a powerful flashlight.

Link to the journal article

 

[Captain Zyrain]

Thanks, Obamafish!

 

[HStallion]

The Muslim Kenyan Communist Antichrist FISH

 

[Madness]

I hope he will have his Presidential Library in Hawaii and not Chicago. Will help the Hawaiian economy more and be a better atmosphere.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Republicans are going to exterminate that fish

 

[Imperfected]

A clever ruse to lure Kanye back from the Trump Side.

 

[sphagnum]

“I am deeply honored to have this fish named after me" lol

 

[Smellycat]

Someone please make the fish black. Obama's reaction would be much more appropriate lol

"the fuck is this?"

 

[SuperStiltzkin]

Trump's first act as president is executing that fish.