Miss Cole’s 4th Grade Class
Elmhurst Elementary
420 133rd St East
Parkland, WA 98445
acole@fpschools.org

8th March 2019

Rep. Melanie Morgan

JLOB 417
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA
98504-0600

Dear Ms. Morgan,

Over the past week we have been learning about our government, public offices,
and how to be involved as 9-10 year olds. We learned that students across the
country have been a part of deciding our state symbols, and we realized that
Washington does not have a state dinosaur. Other states, like Colorado and
California, have state dinosaurs and we have done some research to come up
with a suggestion for Washington.

Our research shows that in May 2012, Washington’s first dinosaur

fossil was found on Sucia Island near the infamous San Juan Islands.
The partial left femur was determined to be from the Theropod family
of dinosaur. Paleontologists cannot tell exactly what type of Therapod
the fossil belongs to, but evidence points to it being a type of
Tyrannosaur, specifically a Daspletosaurus (​D. torosus​). Scientists
Brandon Peecook and Chris Sidor have given it the nickname
Suciasaurus Rex!

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. Thank you for your
time, we hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Miss Cole’s Fourth Grade class

Elmhurst Elementary