Maiasaura

Maiasaura means "good-mother reptile" (saura is the feminine form of -saurus).

The Maisaura was the first dinosaur to be excavated toghether with its nest, eggs and young. Some of the young animals were too big to be in an egg, so it is believed that this dinosaur looked after and fed her young. Several hundred of these nests have been found in the same place - now called 'Egg Mountain' in Montana, USA, so we are almost certain that the Maiasaura lived in large herds and formed huge nesting colonies - in the same way that many birds do today.   

Lenght: 8-9 m
Weight: 2-4 ton
Age: Late Cretaceous (80-75 mio. years ago)
Herbivore

Did you know about Maisaura

that the nests lay about 7 metres from each other? They were made of earth, with each nest containing 20-30 eggs. The eggs were the same size as an ostrich egg, and it is believed, that they were incubated by the warmth produced from composting plant material in the nest.