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First-ever adult Tyrannosaurus rex trackway discovered in North Dakota badlands
CBS News • • science
Key Points:
- Paleontologists have discovered the first known trackway of a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex, consisting of four connected footprints found in southwestern North Dakota near the Montana border.
- The 23-foot-long trackway, with footprints about 3 feet long, allowed researchers to estimate the T. rex was walking at 3.5 to 4.5 mph despite weighing over seven tons.
- The discovery, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, offers rare behavioral insight by showing how the animal moved, unlike previous isolated footprints.
- The site, rich in tyrannosaur fossils including a juvenile specimen called "Teen Rex," was scanned in 3D for analysis, and three footprints will be airlifted to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
- The tracks date back approximately 66.5 million years, near the end of the Cretaceous period, just before the asteroid impact that led to the dinosaurs' extinction.
