What to Know
- A 75' long-neck sauropod will go on display inside the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's new wing, NHM Commons, in the fall of 2024
- The museum is seeking a name for the huge prehistoric beast, which boasts green bones; voting closes on June 20, 2024
- The skeleton's unusual hue was created by celadonite, a mineral
Ask any kid, or dino-loving adult, to draw a dinosaur, the sort of prehistoric beast that stood tall, stood long, and may or may not have emitted an enormous roar now and then.
The crayon-wielding artist will often get quite creative: The dinosaur might have five wings, or five eyes, or maybe even green bones.
That last spurt of whimsy isn't so nonsensical, though, for a sizable sauropod — picture a colossal critter that is 75 feet in length — will make its dino-dazzling debut at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County in the fall of 2024...
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... with green bones fully intact.
The emerald-like patches found on the sauropod's bones are due to celadonite deposits, giving this long-necked dino its mystical hue.
If this strange but straight-from-science beastie stokes your imagination, let your daydreams fly: The Exposition Park-based museum is seeking a name for its majestic and unusual new resident.
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A list of cute contenders is up on the NHM website, including Gnatalie — the bones were quite gnat-covered when paleontologists made the thrilling discovery in Utah back in 2007 — and Sage, a moniker inspired by the green sage growing outside the museum.
Olive, Verdi, and Esme are playful, green-themed possibilities, too (Esmeralda, the beautiful Spanish name, sparkles like an emerald).
Whatever name is selected, this beautiful behemoth, an incredible find made by NHM's chief paleontologist Dr. Luis Chiappe and "an international field crew," will be the jaw-dropping jewel of the NHM Commons, the museum's soon-to-open wing.
And as if this formerly gnatty, still green-tinged, super-long, ultra-amazing prehistoric superstar wasn't fetching enough, here's something else to inspire you as you help pick a name: This is "a new species of sauropod," shares the museum, which instantly ups the dinosaur's wow factor by about a million billion.
Surely this new celebrity will become one of our city's most iconic ambassadors, leaving all non-dino residents a bit, well, green with envy.
