• Official state tree: the white oak (Quercus alba).

• Official state mineral: garnet, which is highly abrasive.

• Official state insect: the praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) (a scientific name I did not make up).

• Official state bird: the American robin (Turdus migratorius) (same comment).

• Official state fossil: the dinosaur footprints of Eubrontes (apparently the footprints themselves are called “Eubrontes,” but nobody is sure what species made them, so whatever).

• Official state troubadour: “There shall be an official state troubadour,” to be designated biennially by the state Department of Economic and Community Development. According to WTIC’s Capitol Report, Kristen Graves was recently named the official troubadour for 2013-14.

• Official state song: “Yankee Doodle.”

• Official state cantata: “Nutmeg,” by Stanley L. Ralph.

• Official state animal: the sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), which the people of Connecticut used to slaughter at every opportunity. (The Connecticut Secretary of State’s website refers to this as the sperm whale’s “special contribution to the state’s history,” which I thought was a nice touch.)

• Official state shellfish: the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). They’re still killing these, but who cares? Tasty.

Conn. Stat. §§ 3-105 through 3-110n.