Temporal range: Late Cretaceous (Campanian), 76.7 Ma
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Mounted cast, Brussels Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Clade:
Dinosauria
Clade:
†Ornithischia
Clade:
†Ornithopoda
Family:
†Hadrosauridae
Subfamily:
†Saurolophinae
Tribe:
†Brachylophosaurini
Genus:
†Maiasaura Horner & Makela, 1979
Type species
†Maiasaura peeblesorum
Horner & Makela, 1979
Maiasaura (from the Greek μαῖα, meaning "good mother" and σαύρα, the feminine form of saurus, meaning "reptile") is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid ("duck-billed") dinosaur genus that lived in the area currently covered by the state of Montana and the province of Alberta, Canada,[1] in the Upper Cretaceous Period (mid to late Campanian), about 76.7 million years ago.[2]Maiasaura peeblesorum is the state fossil of Montana.
The first remains of Maiasaurapeeblesorum were discovered in the Two Medicine Formation near Chouteau, Montana in 1978 by Bynum, Montana resident Laurie Trexler. This holotype specimen was later described by Horner and Makela in 1979. The given genus name refers to the finding of Maiasaura peeblesorum eggs, embryos, and juveniles in a nest-like structure by Marion Brandvold in 1978 relatively close to the holotype specimen. This discovery of fifteen juvenile dinosaurs in close proximity to an adult showed the first instance of parental and social behavior in dinosaurs. It allowed for interpretations such as that Maiasaurapeeblesorum fed its young while they were in the nest. Further work in this area led to the discovery of more dinosaur eggs, leading to the area being named “Egg Mountain.” Hundreds of bones of Maiasaurapeeblesorum have been dug up.
Reconstruction of Maiasaura peeblesorum
Maiasaura was about 9 metres (30 ft) long. Young animals walked on their hind legs, adults on all fours. Maiasaura was probably closely related to Brachylophosaurus.
^McFeeters, Bradley D.; Evans, David C.; Ryan, Michael J.; Maddin, Hillary C. (2021-03-01). "First occurrence of Maiasaura (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation of southern Alberta, Canada". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 58 (3): 286–296. Bibcode:2021CaJES..58..286M. doi:10.1139/cjes-2019-0207. ISSN 0008-4077. S2CID 233851376.
^Horner, J. R., Schmitt, J. G., Jackson, F., & Hanna, R. (2001). Bones and rocks of the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine-Judith River clastic wedge complex, Montana. In Field trip guidebook, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology 61st Annual Meeting: Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleontology in the Western Plains and Rocky Mountains. Museum of the Rockies Occasional Paper (Vol. 3, pp. 3-14).
Maiasaura (from the Greek μαῖα, meaning "good mother" and σαύρα, the feminine form of saurus, meaning "reptile") is a large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid...
family). Then he adopts a young female Maiasaura from a Maiasaura family and herd. Her name is Maia the Maiasaura. In this story, they try to get the no-good...
the Maiasaura eggs. The mother loses all but two of her eggs, one of which being the egg she saved. When the eggs hatch, one is a male Maiasaura, whom...
Saurolophinae and Lambeosaurinae. It is closely related to Brachylophosaurus and Maiasaura, and was assigned to a new clade called Brachylophosaurini. The holotype...
begin to leave his impact on the field, including with the naming of Maiasaura in 1979. Hadrosaur research experienced a surge in the decade of the 2000s...
parental care for young after hatching. Jack Horner's 1978 discovery of a Maiasaura ("good mother lizard") nesting ground in Montana demonstrated that parental...
mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, came to cover the state. On land, the duckbilled Maiasaura formed vast nesting colonies. By the end of the Cretaceous Montana was...
be allowed to exploit the Willow Creek site, where he had studied the Maiasaura Egg Mountain nesting colony for six years. Having already made extensive...
discovered. In 1979, Horner and Makela referred these hadrosaur bones to Maiasaura peeblesorum. The announcement attracted renewed scientific interest to...
a goddess who promoted growth. 66 Maja, asteroid Bona Dea Maia (star) Maiasaura Rosmerta The alternate spelling Maja represents the intervocalic i as...
women, typically translated into English as "Good Mother". Examples: Maiasaura ("Good Mother/Maia's lizard"); Eomaia ("dawn Maia"); Juramaia ("Jurassic...
original on March 14, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013. "Plants & Animals- Maiasaura". Montana Department of Tourism. 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2013. "Population...
Direct evidence of parental behavior exists in other dinosaurs such as Maiasaura peeblesorum, the first dinosaur to have been discovered to raise its young...
site features dozens of nests each with 20 or more eggs belonging to the Maiasaura. Juvenile teeth at the site exhibit signs of wear, while the leg bones...
May 25, 2017 June 24, 2017 Kentrosaurus, Albertosaurus, Dromeosaurus/Maiasaura, Tyrannosaurus rex 5.6 Dino Defender / Dino Days of Summer May 25, 2017...
Prosaurolophus, and the other horned hadrosaurines Brachylophosaurus, Maiasaura, and Saurolophus. Although they lack a shorter frontal, the genera Edmontosaurus...
members of the group include Brachylophosaurus, Gryposaurus, Lophorhothon, Maiasaura, Naashoibitosaurus, Prosaurolophus, and Saurolophus. It was either closely...
(from Montana and Utah), Brachylophosaurus (from Montana and Alberta), Maiasaura (also from Montana), and Probrachylophosaurus (also from Montana). A hadrosaur...
pair of Smilodon brothers successfully take down a terror bird, a mother Maiasaura navigates the nesting grounds to reach her own nest, and a female Tyrannosaurus...
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