"A scientist said he honored President Joe Biden by naming a prehistoric "vampire squid" after the 46th president.
"Syllipsimopodi bideni is described as an "incredibly rare" fossil, according to a report.
"For decades, it was stored at a Canadian university, but a scientist recently reexamined it and decided to name it after the president.
"This was sitting in a museum since the '80s and no one realized it was important," Christopher Whalen, a paleontologist with the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan, said. "We chanced on that importance because I happened to notice the arm suckers."
" 'Whalen said naming the squid after Biden was in no way meant to be a slight.
" 'I wanted to somehow acknowledge the moment in a way that was more positive and forward-looking," he said.
" 'I was encouraged by the plans President Biden put forward to counter anthropogenic climate change and his general sentiment that politicians should listen to scientists."
"Whalen first submitted his study at about the time Biden was inaugurated, and it was finally published Tuesday in Nature Communications.
"The 10-armed creature is reportedly the oldest cephalopod that has suckers, and it is estimated to have roamed the oceans 300 million years ago.". . .
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