Maiasaura

Skeletal reconstruction of Maiasaura with cub

• North America (Montana)

• Maiasaura peeblesorum

Maiasaura ( " good mother lizard" ) is a genus of bird Beck dinosaurs from the Upper Cretaceous of North America. Maiasaura lived like probably all Hadrosauridae in herds and, like all bird Beck dinosaur, a plant eater. The hadrosaur was scientifically described by the famous paleontologist Jack Horner on the basis of fossils from the rocks of the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, USA, where all known to this day remains date.

Physique

The Body of Maiasaura apparently had no special items that you could not find a back comb or tanks. A feature was the duckbill equipped with up to 2,000 teeth. Maiasaura probably reached a weight of two to three tons and was about seven feet long.

Brood care

Maiasaura bred in colonies, as it is known today by many living species of birds. The researchers found in a confined space, several partially still quite well preserved nests before. Because some nests the remains of newly hatched or very young animals were found, whose bones were not yet fully formed, and the bottom of the nest was covered with egg shell splinters, researchers suspect that Maiasaura were altricial the eggshells had trampled. Probably the young Maiasaura remained so long in the nest until they were old enough to go with foraging.

Speak the remains of well- chewed, probably out würgter plant foods that were found in the nests of this theory. The type of Maiasaura - nest, which was about three feet deep, two feet wide and built around, is taken as evidence for the theory of Nesthockens of Maiasaura. Most eggs were in an upright position. They were about 20 inches long, ran pointed to and infected with the narrower end in the ground. The edge of the nest was probably pulled out of mud or silt, the interior of the nest was lined with soft vegetation.

The fact that the young of the Maiasaura could have been altricial, assumes a very active brood care of the parents. So this had to protect the nest from predators, first give the eggs and then later the boy the necessary heat to secure them to survive and to provide the boys steadily with food. Therefore, the genus name, which means " good mother lizard".

This type of brood care, comparable to today's animals, seems surprising in dinosaurs, but the chances of survival of the young in a breeding colony is much higher than if they had as precocial from the beginning for themselves have to worry.

The Hadrosauriern the ability also has been demonstrated that they could emit sounds and thus probably give a warning cry from when danger threatened. It is believed that the dams are always returned for breeding and rearing their young at the same place. The boys grew up very quickly, after only two years they had reached a length of about three meters. Then growth slowed and with about eight years they were fully grown.