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The coat of arms of the British Antarctic Territory was first granted in 1952, when the territory was still a dependency of the Falkland Islands (along with South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).
The arms consist of a shield bearing a flaming torch on a wavy background representing the sea. The dexter supporter is a golden lion, representing the United Kingdom. The sinister supporter is an Emperor penguin, representing the native wildlife in the territory. The lion stands on a compartment of grass, while the penguin stands on a compartment of ice. The crest is a representation of the RRS Discovery, the research ship used by Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton on their first journey to the Antarctic.
The motto is “Research and Discovery”, reflecting the aims of the British Antarctic Survey.
The coat of arms appears in the fly of the flag of the British Antarctic Territory.