Connecticut State Dinosaur Inspires Massachusetts

I was reading around the internet last night, and I came across the news that a State Rep from Massachusetts announced that he was putting a poll up, and wanted people to vote for the Official Dinosaur of Massachusetts.

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According to Massachusetts State Representative Jack Lewis's Tweet, Lewis will be filing legislation on January 15, 2021 to declare an Official Massachusetts Dinosaur, and he's included a poll, open to Massachusetts residents only, asking for the public to vote between two dinosaurs.

They've narrowed their official dinosaur choice down to either the Podokesaurus Holyokensis, or, more commonly - "The Swift-Footed Lizard of Holyoke", or, the Anchisaurus Polyzelus, which doesn't have a cooler street name, unfortunately. Only 12 other states in the US have official state dinosaurs, and guess who is one them?

Yep, good ol' Connecticut. So, I did a little research, and I thought you might like to meet our little guy. Most of you will probably know it already, it's already been made famous by one of the biggest dinosaur movies ever.

The photos you see are of an animatronic Dilophosaurus, the Official Connecticut State Dinosaur. It was designated back in 2017 by Governor Malloy.

According to statesymbolsusa.org, the Dilophosaurus was a double-crested carnivorous dinosaur, that roamed Connecticut during the Jurassic era. It's biggest claim to fame though, is it's appearance in Jurassic Park - it's the cute-little dinosaur that turns into a gunk-spitting nasty that takes out Newman as he's trying to escape with the dinosaur embryos. Yep, that crazy little guy is the Official Connecticut State Dinosaur. Here's a picture and video to refresh your memory:

Here's the whole scene:

That's the Official Dinosaur of Connecticut? The Newman-Killer? I don't remember being asked back in 2017, but, I guess if we had no choice in the matter, they did a decent job?

One of my favorite childhood memories is going to Yale's Peabody Museum in New Haven and seeing all of the wonderful fossils in their collection. If you haven't been, go. Also, the Connecticut River Valley is rich with dinosaur history, here's a link to The Connecticut Dino Trail.