ABU DHABI // Dubainosaur, D-Rex and Dubizilla are just some of the suggested names for the Dubai Mall's newest attraction – a 155 million-year-old dinosaur skeleton.
The mall unveiled the 24 metre long, 7.6 metre high centrepiece on Monday night, and launched a competition to give it a name.
The exhibit itself is a near-complete skeleton of the creature known as Diplodocus longus.
Entrants have been taking to social media using the hashtag #NameTDMDino, and have a chance of winning a trip for four to Jurassic Park at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, along with some serious bragging rights to the name.
The prize includes return flights and six nights in a hotel for two adults and two children under 12, hotel and airport transfers and VIP entry passes to the Universal Studios theme park.
Entrants can submit three suggestions for the name by following a link on the Dubai Mall’s website and social media pages.
Other suggestions include Dubainosaurus Rex, Karamasaurus Rex or, very simply, The Dubai Mallosaurus.
According to the competition rules, if more than one person has submitted the winning name, the person who submitted it first will be declared the winner.
Entrants have until midnight on March 31 to submit their suggestions.
Dubai Mall will announce the winner next month.
The mall says on its website that the “dinosaur skeleton has been accurately mounted in a rearing pose making for an exciting never-before-seen centerpiece. This dinosaur skeleton also bears the distinction of being the first sauropod skeleton comprising actual fossil bone to be mounted in an upright position.
“It is unmatched in completeness and quality and rates high in scientific integrity. In addition, the dinosaur skeleton is beautifully preserved which greatly enhances its aesthetic appeal and desirability. Importantly, the bones belonging to this dinosaur skeleton are from one individual. No comparable specimens of this quality exist in private or museum collections.”
ksinclair@thenational.ae
