Montana

Montana //Maiasaura peeblesorum //

**Description of Organism:** //Maiasaura peeblesorum,// meaning "good mother lizard," is a duck-billed dinosaur. The area that //Maiasaura peeblesorum// inhabited is now the state of Montana. This was the first dinosaur known to have lived in nesting communities with its young. The Maiasaura was very similar to others of its kind. It had a broad, duck-like beak with strong muscular jaws like other duck-billed dinosaurs. One unique feature was its crest located in front of its eyes. Also like others of its kind it could walk on four legs, but lift itself on two legs for sudden bursts of speed. This would have been useful as the Maiasaura would have had little way of defending itself, except perhaps by using its strong heavy tail or by traveling in herds.




 * Time ** **Existed:** Approximately 75 to 80 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period.

**Preservation:** Found on Egg Mountain in the sedimentary layers, the bones of this organism were preserved by a cast.

In 1978, Montana rock shop owner Marion Brandvold found a group of fossilized bones and eggshells that were later identified as belonging to a new dinosaur species. The Two Medicine Formation, near Bynum in western Montana, has since become the site of the largest cache of dinosaur baby skeletons, eggs, and embryos ever found in the western hemisphere. This discovery has taught paleontologists much about dinosaur ecology and behavior. Popularly known as Egg Mountain, this area has also yielded one of the largest collections of adult dinosaur skeletons.
 * Founder of Fossil: **

**Why it’s the state fossil:** This dinosaur inhabited the coastal lowlands of present-day Montana. Because of //Maiasaura peeblesorum//’s importance to paleontology, a group of middle school students and rock collectors from Montana proposed adoption of this dinosaur as the state fossil. On February 22, 1985, a bill was passed unanimously, designating //Maiasaura peeblesorum// as Montana’s official state fossil. So far fossil remains of this Late Cretaceous dinosaur have been found only in Montana.

State Symbols USA.(n.d.)Montana State Fossil. State Symbols USA. Retrieved from [] World Trade Press.(n.d.)Montana State Fossil. A to Z the USA. Retrieved from [] Hamilton, J(n.d.)Maiasaura. Dinosaurs and Other Fossils. Retrieved from []
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