Maiasaura lived during the Late Cretaceous period about 80 to 65 million years ago. As a herbivore, it ate plants, leaves and berries. Maiasaura means \"Good Mother Lizard\" because it cared for its young. She would sit beside them to prevent thieves from stealing the eggs. Maiasaura would lay her eggs in a mound of earth in a circular pattern. Maiasaura is most famous for his parenting behavior, laying 30 to 40 eggs at a time. He was quite small or the size of those laid by modern ostriches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maiasaura was warm-blooded; he grew from about 16 to 58 inches in just one year. A young Maiasaura had a tall, narrow head after hatching. Its head became lower and wider from back to front, with a broad horned beak as it grew. The limbs were not well developed, but its teeth were worn down. There was a strong bony crest over its eyes that was used for head-butting during the breeding season or when defending territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maiasaura lived in a fairly complex ecosystem or in very large groups with up to 10,000 animals in a herd. An adult Maiasaura was up to 30 feet long from head to tail and weighed about five tons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maiasaura could run fast to escape predators or use its heavy, stiff tail to defend itself.
Maiasaura was a herbivorous dinosaur that ate about 200 pounds of leaves, berries and seeds per day.\u00a0
The discovery of Maiasaura, the duck-billed dinosaur fossils, led to the theory that these bipedal plant-eating animals cared for their young.
An adult Maiasaura measured up to 30 feet long from head to tail and weighed about five tons.\u00a0
Maiasaura was discovered in the Two Medicine Formation near Choteau, Montana, USA.\u00a0
Maiasaura lived during the Late Cretaceous period about 80 to 65 million years ago.