Move over bison, crocus - 'Bruce' could become Manitoba's dinosaur

It's not every province that has a dinosaur for an emblem.

But that's one of the weighty issues discussed at the Manitoba legislature Tuesday, as legislators took a break from debates about leadership, cabinet composition and non-confidence motions.

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Progressive Conservative Cameron Friesen, MLA for Morden-Winkler, introduced a private member's bill Tuesday which proposes to make Bruce the mosasaur, officially tylosaurus pembinensis, the province's "marine reptile fossil emblem."

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Bruce, or rather the 13-metre fossil Bruce used to be, is on display at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden.

The bill has received first reading in the legislature.

Manitoba's 80-million-year-old mosasaur was discovered in 1974 in a farmers field just west of the city.

I believe this bill will highlight the significance of the CFDCs world-class mosasaur exhibit and draw attention to Bruce the mosasaur as a Manitoba institution, said Friesen in a news release.

Bruce was awarded a Guinness World Record in September as the worlds largest mosasaur.