Maiasaura has been a good mother, but how long did the cubs stay with their mother? Newborn hatchlings were 30 cm, when they were 1.5 m they left the nest and when they reached a year old they were 2.5 m. Is that correct? At what age did they become adults?
Answer
Dear Eric,
It’s very hard to say this. There is no real evidence that Maiasaura (and other hadrosaurs) cared for their young. They made nests in colonies, that’s for sure. But there is debate over whether the young stayed in the nest for a period of time (nest-stayers) or whether they were able to walk and leave the nest immediately after the eggs hatched (nest-eaters).
The question is also, if they were fledglings, if they could follow their parents, if they were separated from them. Fossilized traces indicate that the young remained separated from the parents until they were large enough (half the adult size) to join the group. But it is not known how long this period lasted; estimates range from a few months to two years.
This question was answered by Pascaline Lauters, paleontologist at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
Answered by
Jessica Renovation
Rue Vautier 29 1000 Brussels
http://www.naturalsciences.be
.