Washington considers naming official state dinosaur, joining 9 other states. But why?
States across the U.S. have official state birds, flowers, bugs and songs — but what about a dinosaur?
The long-extinct species isn’t roaming around a state, and dinosaurs have no significance on the day-to-day lives of the people within a state. Even so, at least nine states have official state dinosaurs, and a new bill could add Washington to that list.
The Suciasaurus rex was the first and only dinosaur fossil discovered in the state, according to the bill.
In 2012, scientists at the Burke Museum in Seattle announced they had found the first dinosaur fossil in the state along the shore in the San Juan Islands, according to The Olympian.
The fossil was “about the size of a large loaf of bread,” and researchers knew it was an ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus rex, The Olympian reported.
“Dinosaurs are not usually found in Washington because of its proximity to an active tectonic plate boundary and the high degree of human development,” the bill states. “Some scientists believe the Suciasaurus rex lived somewhere between Baja California, Mexico, and northern California, and its fossil traveled to Washington along with a portion of the western edge of North America.”
Lawmakers now want to make it the first official dinosaur in the state after an elementary school class learned about the fossil and asked for the creature to become the first state dinosaur, the Washington State Journal reported.
The fourth-grade class at Elmhurst Elementary in Parkland was learning about how a bill becomes a law and came up with the idea to try to name the Suciasaurus the state dinosaur, according to The Spokesman-Review.
“This bill is more than just about a dinosaur,” Melanie Morgan, D-Tacoma, said at a hearing Thursday, according to the State Journal. “It’s our formal recognition and appreciation for the hard work, preparation, creativity, and the drive of these students.”
Other lawmakers are not happy that lawmakers are focusing on naming a state dinosaur while the coronavirus continues to spread, King 5 reported.
Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, told King 5 that he thought members were limiting the legislation they would introduce during this session to focus more on COVID-19 relief.
“I can think of an awful lot of bills getting hearings, including the state dinosaur and gun bills that were not part of that list,” Wilcox told the TV station.
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming currently have named state dinosaurs. Massachusetts is also in the process of adopting a state dinosaur, CNN reported.