Overview
- Peer‑reviewed research on Maiasaura peeblesorum reports juvenile teeth with more crushing wear and adult teeth with more shearing wear, indicating different diets by age.
- Scientists read dental microwear patterns—tiny pits and scratches—and matched them to modern mammals, with juveniles resembling fruit‑eating tapirs and adults resembling grazers like cows.
- The authors interpret the split as parents bringing soft, higher‑protein foods such as fruit or partially regurgitated meals to young that stayed in the nest.
- The diet difference likely sped early growth in juveniles and aligns with nest fossils showing hatchlings with weak leg bones that depended on adults.
- The study notes limits and alternatives, including the absence of confirmed adult Maiasaura dental batteries in the sample, and calls for more microwear tests on the youngest fossils.