Gov. Charlie Baker held a ceremonial signing Wednesday for a bill declaring the Podokesaurus holyokensis as Massachusetts’ state dinosaur.
Baker held the ceremony at the Museum of Science in Boston and signed the bill declaring the state dinosaur to be Podokesaurus holyokensis, also known as the fleet-footed lizard.
The species was discovered in Holyoke, Mass., in 1910 by Mignon Talbot, a Mount Holyoke College professor and paleontologist who became the first woman to discover a non-avian dinosaur species.
The bill was spearheaded by Rep. Jack Patrick Lewis, D-Framingham, who said he discovered some states have official dinosaurs during the COVID-19 pandemic and held a poll to allow Massachusetts residents to weigh in on what dinosaur they thought should represent the state.
The bill signing coincided with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito’s weeklong celebration of science, technology, engineering and math education.
