Paleontologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the badlands of southwestern North Dakota: the first known trackway of a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex. This significant find, detailed in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, consists of four connected footprints, each about three feet long, revealing how the massive dinosaur moved across the landscape. Previously, only two isolated adult T. rex footprints had been confirmed globally. The trackway, discovered by high school teacher and amateur fossil hunter Kent Hups in 2025, spans 23 feet and suggests the dinosaur was walking at a speed of 3.5 to 4.5 mph. The tracks, dating back 66.5 million years, were attributed to T. rex due to their size and shape, as well as the abundance of tyrannosaur bones in the area. The site was scanned in 3D, and three of the footprints will be transported to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for further study. This discovery offers a rare glimpse into the behavior of one of history’s most iconic predators just before the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
QUESTION: How might the discovery of the T. rex trackway change our understanding of dinosaur behavior and movement?
First-ever adult T. rex trackway found in North Dakota
