Blind creature that buries head in sand named after Donald Trump

Source: The Guardian

Blind creature that buries head in sand named after Donald Trump

Amphibian’s behaviour compared to US president’s approach to global warming

Damian Carrington Environment editor
Tue 18 Dec 2018 18.16 GMT

A newly discovered blind and burrowing amphibian is to be officially named Dermophis donaldtrumpi, in recognition of the US president’s climate change denial.

The name was chosen by the boss of EnviroBuild, a sustainable building materials company, who paid $25,000 (£19,800) at an auction for the right. The small, legless creature was found in Panama and EnviroBuild’s Aidan Bell said its ability to bury its head in the ground matched Donald Trump’s approach to global warming.

Trump’s distinctive hair has already led to comparisons to a poisonous, furry caterpillar and a golden-plumed pheasant, while a yellow-crowned moth was called Neopalpa donaldtrumpi in 2017.

Climate change is already harming Americans’ lives, from wildfires to floods, and will get worse, according to a major US government report published in November. Trump’s response to the report was: “I don’t believe it.” The only event his administration put on at the recent UN climate summit in Poland extolled the virtues of fossil fuels, to cries of “shame on you” from protesters.

The newly discovered creature is a caecilian and its naming rights were auctioned to raise money for the Rainforest Trust. The scientists who found the 10cm-long amphibian have agreed to use the name Dermophis donaldtrumpi when they officially publish the discovery in the scientific literature.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/18/blind-amphibian-named-after-trumps-climate-change-stance