Washington State Dinosaur? Legislators Discuss House Bill

OLYMPIA, WA - Amidst arguments over annual state budgets, gun control, and healthcare, Washington legislators this session are apparently also debating the merits of designating an official state dinosaur, with the locally nicknamed "Suciasaurus rex" the current frontrunner (and only contestant) for the honor.

Officially known in scientific communities as a Daspletosaurus, the colloquial Suciasaurus rex was dubbed as such by scientists Brandon Peecook and Chris Sidor based on where it was first found in Sucia Island state park in May 2012.

When paleontologists found the therapod dinosaur's left femur among the San Juan Islands, they noted it was the first dinosaur bone to have ever been found in Washington.

A therapod, Daspletosaurus was reportedly similar to more well-known dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus rex and velociraptor.

With dinosaur fossil finds of any kind entirely uncommon in the Evergreen State, some scientists have hypothesized the discovery was made possible by a shifting portion of "the western edge of North America that was displaced to British Columbia in the Late Cretaceous period," noting the belief that the Daspletosaurus originally lived somewhere between Baja California, Mexico, and northern California, according to House Bill 2155.

Helping push the atypical political agenda is Amy Cole's fourth grade class at Elmhurst Elementary in Parkland.

In a letter to Rep. Melanie Morgan (D-Parkland), Cole's class noted their recent study of government, public offices, and how to get involved as children revealed to them Washington does not currently have an official state dinosaur — though in Washington's defense, only 12 states and the District of Columbia actually do.

Undeterred by the apparent lack of overwhelming public interest, Cole's class pushed forward in their request to see Suciasaurus rex designated the official Washington State dinosaur.

Noting the fossil's discovery on Sucia Island and its local nickname, the students wrote: "The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle showcases the fossil and even advertises the Suciasaurus Rex on museum merchandise. We think that this evidence shows why the Suciasaurus Rex should be our state dinosaur."

The bill was read March 25 and forwarded to State Government & Tribal Relations.

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