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Four giant three-toed prints found in 2025 near Marmarth, North Dakota turned out to be the first trackway ever attributed to an adult T. rex, and the 66.5-million-year-old sequence records a 13-foot
Space Daily • • general
Key Points:
- Researchers have documented the first-ever trackway attributed to an adult Tyrannosaurus rex, consisting of four large three-toed footprints found in North Dakota's Hell Creek Formation, dating back 66.5 million years.
- The trackway measures about 23 feet with footprints roughly three feet long and indicates the T. rex was walking at a brisk pace of approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mph, similar to a human walking speed.
- Attribution to an adult T. rex is based on footprint size, toe angle, and the presence of adult T. rex bones nearby, distinguishing it from previous smaller tyrannosaur trackways.
- The prints were documented using high-resolution 3D scanning and analyzed remotely by experts, with three of the four prints scheduled for airlift and display at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
- This discovery provides direct behavioral evidence confirming biomechanical models that predicted T. rex was a fast walker rather than a runner, offering new insights into the locomotion of this apex predator shortly before its extinction.
