The best reason to become US president is to get a new species named after you

On Monday night, the two candidates running to be president of the United States will square off in the first debate. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are probably after this job for plenty of reasons, but one neat bonus is having new species named after you. A whole bunch of presidents — past and present — have animals and trees that bear their names.

The current commander in chief, Barack Obama, is pretty popular — especially among fish. In 2012, scientists named a freshwater darter that lives in the Tennessee River Etheostoma Obama, and cited Obama’s environmental leadership as influencing the choice. Earlier this month, a saltwater fish discovered in Hawaii was named after Obama because its dorsal fin coloration was reminiscent of...