Are you a turtle?* Is this a fluke?

Just when you think science can’t get any more weird,  we get something like this

A new species of blood fluke was found infecting the lungs of turtles in Malaysia. This parasitic flatworm has been dubbed Baracktrema obamai, in honor of the President of the United States (who is the fifth cousin twice removed of one of the discovering scientists).

A parasitic flatworm? I thought this was a spoof until I followed the link to the Jounal of Parasitology.  For reals.

Tip from the Drudge Report.

* Classical reference: Welcome to the Turtle Society.  The only duty of membership is to give the correct response to the question “Are you a Turtle?”  The correct response is “You bet your sweet ass I am.”

Update:  got a like from Julius at Logical Quotes, a great place to get exposed painlessly to some of the great classical philosophers.

Update: Apparently turtles have more going for themselves than we knew.  Check out this guy.  I actually met this turtle in the San Diego Kids’ Zoo when I was a lad, before he was repatriated.