DUBAI // The emirate’s oldest prehistoric resident finally has a name.
The long necked, whip-tailed, 155 million-year-old dinosaur was called DubaiDino on Monday.
The name was chosen by Johara Al Bayedh, a bank manager and Saudi national.
The 24 metre long, 7.6 metre high Diplodocus longus dinosaur from the late Jurassic period has been on display at Dubai Mall for the past three months.
Ms Al Bayedh won a naming contest and was among more than 6,000 eager participants in the competition that played out on social media under the hashtag #NameTDMDino.
“I’m a big fan of dinosaurs and I had submitted three names,” said Ms Al Bayedh, who has lived in Dubai for 20 years.
“I was so excited about this that I entered instantly and knew I had to be one of the first ones.”
The prize includes a trip for four to Jurassic Park at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, return flights and six nights in a hotel for two adults and two children under 12.
It also includes hotel and airport transfers and VIP entry passes to the theme park.
Developer Emaar had unveiled the dinosaur skeleton as a centrepiece in the mall’s Grand Atrium.
It is the first sauropod skeleton comprising of actual fossil bone to be mounted in an upright position, according to the exhibit details viewed by thousands daily.
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(via The National)
