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Maiasaura
Click here for more Maiasaura Pictures
| Scientific Classification |
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Maiasaura was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived in
North America during the late Cretaceous period, about 80 to
65 million years ago.
It was probably one of the dinosaurs that died out in the Cretaceous-Tertiary
extinction,
65 million years ago.
Maiasaura adults were about 30 feet (9.1 metres) long,
and weighed 3 to 4 tons.
The creature could walk on two or four legs, and had
no obvious defenses against predators except for its
heavy muscular tail, and the fact that it lived in
large herds (some herds many have consisted of as many
as 10,000 individuals).
When Maiasaura was first discovered in
western
Montana
in 1978
by "Jack" Horner
and Robert Makela,
a complete nesting site was
found, where the dinosaurs laid their eggs, and nutured their young.
The nests were mounds of mud, with a depression in the center of each
mound. The eggs had been laid with great care, arranged in circles and layers
within the depression, each nest containing 30 to 40 eggs, each about the size
of an ostrich egg. Scientists believe that
Maiasaura would probably have covered each layer of eggs with sand or earth,
to protect them from predators, and
to keep the eggs warm. Although the parents are not believed to have sat
on the nests, it is highly likely that heat generated by
rotting vegetation in the nest, contributed to warming the eggs.
The name Maiasaura means "Good Mother Lizard", and was chosen in honor of the fact
that it was the first dinosaur species discovered with clear and convincing
evidence that it cared for its young.
This includes the fact that
fossils
of baby Maiasaura show that the hatchlings' legs were not fully
developed, and were incapable of walking, yet also show partially
worn teeth, indicating that the adults brought food to the nest.
Maiasaura has been designated the official state
fossil
of
Montana,
since
1985.
Maiasaura was the first dinosaur in space. A Maiasaura eggshell, and a piece
of bone from a baby Maiasaura, were taken into space by NASA in
1985.
Timeline:
Maiasaura Toys
Safari
Released: 2007-07-01
Toy
 | List Price: $14.50
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Click Here | - Collectible dinosaur replicas
- Authentically detailed and intricately hand-finished with paint exceeding US and European lead safety standards
- For ages 3 and above
Product Description:
8 inches long, 3 inches high |
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Maiasaura Books
By Dougal Dixon
Picture Window Books
Library Binding (24 pages; 1)
 | List Price: $23.93
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By Susan Heinrichs Gray
Child's World
Hardcover (32 pages; 1)
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Lowest Used Price: $1.92
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Click Here | Product Description:
The story of the Maiasaura is a story of good mothers, both dinosaur and human! One good mom's discovery of Maiasaura bones changed the ideas of many scientists about how some dinosaurs cared for their young. Find out for yourself what made Maiasaura such a good dino parent. Would you like one as your mother? |
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By Duncan Searl
Bearport Publishing
Library Binding (32 pages; 1)
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By Elizabeth J. Sandell
Bancroft-Sage Publishing
Paperback (32 pages; 1)
| List Price: $7.95
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Click Here | Product Description:
Describes what is known about the recently discovered duckbilled dinosaur called Maiasuara, as suggested by current fossil evidence. |
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By Daniel Cohen
Capstone Press
Paperback (24 pages; 1)
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By Virginia Schomp
Benchmark Books (NY)
Library Binding (32 pages; 1)
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By Virginia Schomp
Benchmark Books (NY)
Paperback (32 pages; 1)
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Not yet published
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By Janet Riehecky
The Childs World
Hardcover
| Lowest Used Price: $11.90
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By Janet Riehecky
Childs World
School & Library Binding (32 pages)
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By Jenny Vaughan
Gareth Stevens Pub
Library Binding (24 pages; 1)
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