Maiasaura

A wide, flat snout with no front teeth worked like a built-in salad grabber, probably covered in a tough beak-like sheath for snipping plants. Unlike flashier relatives with wild head crests, Maiasaura kept things simple with just a small bony bump above its nose — not showy, but enough to stand out from the crowd.

Hundreds of teeth packed into the back of the jaw formed a 'dental battery' — stacked columns that worked like a built-in food processor, grinding tough plants into mush. These teeth constantly replaced themselves throughout life, so worn-out ones got swapped for fresh grinders automatically. It's like having a mouth full of never-ending sandpaper!

Massive hindlimbs carried around 3,000 kg of dinosaur and let Maiasaura switch between walking on four legs and rearing up on two to reach high branches or sprint away from danger. Growth rings in leg bones (like tree rings, but in fossils!) show these dinosaurs reached near-adult size in just eight years — growing as fast as elephants, not like slow-poke reptiles.

Unlike T. rex with its tiny arms, Maiasaura had beefy forelimbs built to handle serious weight when walking on all fours. Fossilized footprints from hadrosaur trackways confirm these dinosaurs usually strolled around on four legs, saving two-legged movement for when they needed speed or wanted to browse taller plants.

A long tail held straight out behind acted like a balance beam, counterweighting the heavy body up front. Tendons that turned to bone ran along the tail's spine, locking it into a stiff, horizontal position — not for whacking predators, just for staying balanced while on the move.