‘Capitolsaurus Court’
courtesy of ‘DC Like a Local’

So there I was, scrolling through Twitter, completely unaware that my world was about to be rocked. Maura Judkis said, “I can’t believe that I’ve lived here 7 years and only just now learned that D.C. has an official dinosaur.”

What? We have a DINOSAUR? Oh yes, not only does DC have an official dinosaur, but that dinosaur has a song.

In 1898, during sewer work at 1st and F Streets SE, workers found a dinosaur bone. Just one. A vertebra. But that vertebra didn’t match any known specimens at the time, so the Smithsonian drew what their researchers concluded the dinosaur’s skeleton might look like and put the bone into their collection. In 1998, the centennial of the discovery, some enterprising DCPS students at Watkins and Smothers Elementary School lobbied the DC Council to dub it the Capitalsaurus and declare it the official dinosaur of the District of Columbia. They also designated 1st and F SE as “Capitalsaurus Court.”

But the best part of all this, in my opinion, is the fact that the bill actually includes the song the kids sang about the dinosaur and the pressing need to pass the bill.

The Capitalsaurus is not the only dinosaur whose fossils have been found in DC. There have been several other fossils found in the area, and Dr. Peter Kranz of the University of Maryland has compiled a report on many of them.

Tiffany Bridge

Tiffany Baxendell Bridge is an Internet enthusiast and an incurable smartass. When not heckling the neighborhood political scene on Twitter, she can be found goofing off with her ukulele, Bollywood dancing, or obsessing about cult TV. She is That Woman With the Baby In the Bar.

Tiffany lives in Brookland with her husband Tom, son Charlie, and two high-maintenance cats. Read why Tiffany loves DC.