Blind Amphibian Named After Donald Trump

Washington: A newly discovered amphibian that buries its head in the sand has been named after US President Donald Trump, apparently in response to his comments about climate change, media reported. “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 EnviroBuild co-founder Aidan Bell in a statement on Tuesday.

The small, blind, creature is a type of caecilian that primarily lives underground. It was discovered in Panama and named by the head of a company that had bid $25,000 at an auction for the privilege. The company said it wanted to raise awareness about climate change, the BBC reported.

Although US presidents tend to receive their fair share of honours, with Bell drawing an unflattering comparison between its behaviour and Trump’s, the 45th president might want to ignore the latest. “Burrowing (his) head underground helps Donald Trump when avoiding scientific consensus on anthropomorphic climate change,” Bell wrote. The world’s leading scientists agree that climate change is primarily human-induced, but 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, the BBc report said. (IANS)

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