The Los Angeles County Natural History Museum is asking for your help naming its newest resident, a green, 75-foot long-neck sauropod. The dinosaur fossil will be the star of the museum’s new wing and community hub, NHM Commons, opening this fall.
Discovered in Utah in 2007 by NHM’s chief paleontologist Dr. Luis Chiappe and an international field crew, the dinosaur was excavated from what was a riverbed 150 million years ago and covered in gnats. Its green color is created by infilling of the mineral celadonite, according to museum officials.
The museum has provided five names to vote on:
- Esme: Short for Esmerelda, which is Spanish for Emerald and means esteemed and loved in French and Persian cultures;
- Gnatalie: A nod to the quarry where the bones of the dinosaur were found and the pesky gnats that were present and nipped at scientists, students and community members;
- Sage: It’s green and an iconic L.A. native plant that is also grown in NHM’s Nature Gardens;
- Verdi: A derivative of the Latin word for green with many variations that represent multiple languages and cultures; and
- Olive: Olives are green and the olive tree symbolizes peace, joy and strength in many cultures.
Online votes can be cast through, June 20, at https://bit.ly/NewGreenDino.
