North Dakota discovery reveals first adult T. rex trackway

Paleontologists have discovered the first known continuous trackway of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex in the Hell Creek Formation near Marmarth, North Dakota. The discovery, made by high school science teacher and volunteer Kent Hups, consists of four connected three-toed footprints spanning approximately seven meters.

Using high-resolution 3D scanning, researchers from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University determined that the footprints are roughly 66.5 million years old. Each print is approximately 0.9 meters long. By analyzing the stride and size, scientists estimated the dinosaur had a hip height of about four meters and was moving at a speed of 5.5 to 7.2 kilometers per hour, comparable to a brisk human walk.

Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum, noted that while bones provide anatomical data, footprints capture “a moment of behavior,” allowing researchers to track how the animal moved through its landscape. The team plans to transport three of the footprints to Denver for further study and preservation.