Maiasaura, a Hadrosaurid genus, famous as a "good mother lizard," as fossils show it cared for its young. Miasaura also were light weight for their size and could run. It lived in North America about 75 million years ago, probably the direct ancestor of the Hadrosaur Edmontosaurus. It was named by Jack Horner and Robert Makela in 1979.
Astronaut Loren Acton took a bone fragment and eggshell piece of a Maiasaura on an 8-day Spacelab 2 mission in 1985—the first dinosaur in space![1]
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Jurassic Park Series
Maiasaura can be seen in both Jurassic Park novels, very docile as it would probably usually be in real life. Maiasaura did not, however, have motion-sensitive eyesight like it does in the novels. They do not appear in any of the three Jurassic Park films, though it was mentioned in scene 33 of the script for the second film, and some of their actions were transferred to the Parasaurolophus.
Jurassic Park franchise
Maiasaura lives on Isla Sorna in the east.
Jurassic Park Novel
Maiasaura was one of the dinosaurs cloned by InGen in the first novel. The herd of Maiasaura in the park consisted of 22 individuals though the expected population was supposed to be 21. They lived in a paddock called Sauropod Swamp alongside Apatosaurus, Hadrosaurus, and Microceratops. Since frog DNA was used to clone them, the Maiasaura were one of the few dinosaurs in the park that could breed. Reproduction was observed among the Maiasaura though only one youngster was successfully hatched in the wild. This is likely due to the Velociraptors and Procompsognathus sneaking into the paddock during the night and devouring eggs and newly hatched babies. A Maiasaura and her youngster later awakens Alan Grant and the kids while feeding from the tree they were sleeping in. While observing the Maiasaura, Grant realizes that it's vision is based on movement. When Lex begins to climb down the tree, the Maiasaura becomes frightened and walks away from the tree along with her youngster. After being preyed upon by the Tyrannosaurus and the Velociraptors, only 20 Maiasaura are left at the end of the novel.
The Lost World novel
Drawing from TLW novel map
The Maiasaura have their nesting side on the east side of Isla Sorna. Lewis Dodgson, Howard King and George Baselton steal two Maiasaura eggs by frightening the parents with loudspeakers. But when Dodgson's car stands unarmed in the InGen Village the parents attack the car, viciously ripping it apart, and then carefully taking their eggs back.
The Maiasaur nesting site had 4 to 5 low earthen mounds which were 7 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and covered in grasses to help regulate the temperature of the eggs. The eggs are described as pale white ovals that are 2 feet in length, about twice the size of an ostrich egg or the size of a small beach ball. The newborn babies are pale brown, almost white, barely a foot in length, and have folds of wrinkled flesh around their neck. The 20 or so adults are described as being 30 feet long, 10–15 feet high, brown and beige-colored, and having a loud honking call that was reminiscent of the honking of geese. They had large heads that ended in a broad curving, flattened snout, like the bill of a duck, and had the docile manner of a cow, that is, until it's young was endangered.
Trading Cards
Maiasaura appears on nr. 67 of the Inkworks Jurassic Park III Premium Trading Cards. Because of this, and the fact that it was mentioned in scene 33 of the script for the second film as one of the dinosaurs on the island, some fans believe that Maiasaura was on the movie version of InGen's List and lives on Isla Sorna in the movie canon.
Jurassic Park inspired games
Maiasaura from Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
- Maiasaura is nr. 085 of the Herbivore Twos that can be created in Jurassic Park III: Park Builder.
- Maiasaura was planned to appear in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis but was cut in the final version and was possibly replaced by Edmontosaurus.
Notes
- ↑ Inkworks Jurassic Park III Premium Trading Cards #67