First-ever adult Tyrannosaurus rex trackway discovered in North Dakota badlands
Researchers said the 23-foot trackway is the first confirmed adult Tyrannosaurus rex footprint trail and may help estimate how the animal moved.
- Paleontologists have identified the first known trackway made by a full-grown Tyrannosaurus, consisting of four connected footprints discovered in the badlands of southwestern North Dakota.
- Kent Hups, a high school teacher and amateur fossil hunter, discovered the site in 2025 while volunteering on a dig near Marmarth, North Dakota. "Science starts with curiosity," Hups said.
- The 23-foot path features four three-toed footprints, each roughly 3 feet long. Researchers estimated the dinosaur was walking about 3.5 to 4.5 mph using the 13-foot stride.
- Three of the footprints are set to be airlifted by helicopter this fall and transported to the Denver Museum for further study and public display.
- "Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behavior," said Dr. Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. This rare find dates to about 66.5 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous period.
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T. Rex Footprints Are a Discovery
A T. rex apparently went for a stroll through what is now North Dakota, and scientists just traced its steps. Researchers report finding the first known series of footprints from an adult Tyrannosaurus rex: a 23-foot-long trackway of four three-toed prints discovered in the Hell Creek Formation and dated to...
A series of footprints from an adult T. rex has been found for the first time in the American state of North Dakota. A research team from a museum in Denver discovered the tracks last year and has now published its findings in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. The fossilized tracks were found in Hell Creek Formation, an area where other dinosaur footprints have been found. They extend over more than 7 meters and consist of four prints of …
Denver Museum of Nature and Science volunteer discovered T. rex tracks in North Dakota
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Denver Museum of Nature and Science says its scientists have helped discover the first-ever trackway made by an adult Tyrannosaurus rex. According to the museum, the trackway is around 23 feet long and has four three-toed footprints. The discovery was made by a museum volunteer in the Hell Creek Formation
First Adult T. Rex Trackway Ever Discovered Revealed in North Dakota Badlands
Internewscast Internewscast Paleontologists have identified what they say is the first known trail of… This Post: First Adult T. Rex Trackway Ever Discovered Revealed in North Dakota Badlands first appeared on Internewscast
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