Forever "Sue"

Jeff Poling

The latest chapter in the tortuous story of one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found came to a close the week of April 16, 1998, with the announcement that the nickname of the skeleton would remain "Sue."

The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago purchased the skeleton at auction late last year for $8.4 million dollars. However, the Black Hills Institute of Geologic Research, which discovered "Sue" and named it after employee Susan Hendrickson, claimed ownership of the name. The museum and BHI were unable to come to terms, and the museum ran a contest early this year to rename the skeleton.

The name chosen as the contest winner was "Dakota." Unfortunately for the museum, this name too raised legal issues as it is the trademarked name of several commercial products, including a luggage line and a popular Dodge pickup.

In the meantime, BHI dropped its claim to the name "Sue." According to a press release on BHI's website, Institute president Peter Larson and other Institute employees decided that the full history of the specimen should remain intact and that this was best accomplished by allowing the Field Museum to continue to use the name as they saw fit. Larson notified the Museum in February, before the end of the contest, that BHI would relinquish all trademark claims to the name "Sue." With the name now available, the museum decided to keep "Sue" to avoid possible legal hassles over the use of "Dakota," and for posterity.

Contest winners will still be awarded the grand prizes of computer systems and software, museum officials said. The 100 runners-up will get dinosaur T-shirts.