Designating a Provincial Fossil

The selection of B.C.’s Provincial fossil supports the principles of the Fossil Management Framework which recognizes fossils as important heritage resources with scientific and educational value. Voting by the public closed in November 2018.

Last updated: April 8, 2021

On this page

• Results of the voting process
• Fossil candidates

Government sought input from the public on selecting a Provincial Fossil to be added to the official Provincial Symbols of British Columbia (PDF, 153KB).

British Columbia’s list of official symbols and emblems include:

• Pacific Dogwood - adopted as the floral emblem in 1956
• Jade - adopted as official gemstone in 1968
• Steller’s Jay - adopted as official bird in 1987
• Western Red Cedar - adopted as official tree in 1988
• Spirit Bear - adopted as the mammal emblem in 2006
• Pacific Salmon - adopted as the fish emblem in 2013

Results of the voting process

To officially add the Elasmosaur to the Provincial Symbols, Government will consider making an amendment to the Provincial Symbols and Honours Act. Next steps for this process are underway.

Fossil candidates

• See the fossil candidate table for more details and images (PDF, 122KB)
• View the map of where the fossil candidates were found in B.C. (PDF, 240KB)
• Read the background information about the provincial fossil voting process (PDF, 43KB)