First Known Trail Of Adult T Rex Footprints Found, Reveals How Fast The Dinosaur Moved

T. rex lived around 66 to 68 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period and was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to roam Earth before the mass extinction that ended the age of the dinosaurs.

13 Sep 2026, 13:39 · NDTV

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Discovery of first known adult T. rex trackway with four connected footprints in North Dakota
Footprints dated 66.5 million years old, measuring about 3 feet long with 13 feet stride length
High-resolution 3D scanning used to digitally study and replicate tracks without site disturbance

Why are dinosaur tracks so much rarer to find than fossilized bones?

Palaeontologists have discovered what is believed to be the first known trackway left by a fully grown Tyrannosaurus rex. According to the Guardian, they found four connected footprints preserved in the badlands of southwestern North Dakota, near the Montana border.

The discovery, described in a new paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, offers a rare glimpse into how an adult T. rex moved. Until now, only two confirmed footprints from adult T. rex had been found anywhere in the world – one in New Mexico and another in Montana. Both were isolated tracks and provided little information about the dinosaur's movement.

"Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behaviour. With a trackway, we can actually follow an animal as it moves across the landscape. That is incredibly rare for T rex," Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Denver museum, said in a statement.

The newly discovered footprints are about 66.5 million years old. Researchers found them last year on federal land near Marmarth, North Dakota, close to the state's southwestern border. Each footprint measures roughly 3 feet (0.9 metres) long, with the dinosaur leaving about 13 feet (4 metres) between successive steps. The size and shape of the tracks helped researchers identify them as belonging to an adult T. rex.

The team used high-resolution 3D scanning technology to record the footprints in detail. The scans allowed researchers to digitally study the tracks and create physical replicas without disturbing the original site.

"The technology we're able to apply in the digital age means my colleagues could scan the tracks in the field and then send the 3D information over to me to visualise on my computer and in VR, enabling me to take as close a look as they did in person," Peter Falkingham, a professor of paleobiology at Liverpool John Moores University and lead author of the study said.

The footprints also provided clues about the dinosaur's walking speed. Based on the distance between the tracks and the animal's estimated stride, researchers believe the T. rex was moving at around 3.5 to 4.5 mph. That is roughly comparable to the pace of a person taking a brisk walk.

The researchers caution that the estimate is not exact because the footprints have been affected by weathering and erosion over millions of years. Still, the tracks suggest the massive predator was walking rather than running when it left them behind.

Researchers now plan to recover three of the four footprints later this year. They will be transported by helicopter to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where they can be preserved and studied further.

T. rex lived around 66 to 68 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period and was among the last non-avian dinosaurs to roam Earth before the mass extinction that ended the age of the dinosaurs. Adults could reach around 12 to 13 feet in height at the hips.

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