Describer

Horner & Makela, 1979

Time

Cretaceous Late Campanian

Classification

Ornithischia Ornithopoda Hadrosauridae Hadrosaurinae Brachylophosaurini [Maiasaurini] [Brachylophosaurs]

Diet

Herbivore

Fossilsite

Upper Two Medicine Formation, Montana, US

Length

9 meter

Info

Genus - Typespecies - Skull - Eggs

Whits its broad, duck-lile beak, powerful jaws, and batteries of self-sharpening cheek teeth, Maiasaura (\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"good mother lizard\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\") is a typical example of the \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"duckbilled\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" dinosaurs.

It is placed in the family Hadrosauridae on account of its lack of a hollow head crest, and in the subdivision known as the Maiasaurini [Brachylophosaurs] because of the solid, horn-ilke crest above its eyes and the triangular projections on its cheek bones.

Since 1978 thousands of specimens have been found including articulated skull and postcrania, embryo to adult. Maiasaura is disitinguished from the lambeosaurids by having only a small deltapectoral crest on the humerus (upper arm bone).