New insights into how the T. rex moved
Scientists from the USA and UK have discovered the first adult T. rex trackway, providing insights into how this iconic predator moved. The findings have been published today in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The approximately 7-metre-long trackway consists of four three-toed footprints discovered in the Hell Creek Formation of southwestern North Dakota. Each footprint is roughly one metre long, and researchers estimate they were made about 66.5 million years ago.
The team identified T. rex as the most likely trackmaker based on the footprints’ exceptional size and narrow three-toed shape, along with the abundance of T. rex fossils found in the surrounding area. Whilst isolated footprints have been attributed to adult T. rex in the past, this is the first time scientists have described a sequence of tracks, or trackway, likely left by this most famous of dinosaurs.
“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 moved across the landscape. That is incredibly rare for T. rex,” said Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science.
The trackway was found in 2025 on federal land administered by the U.S. Forest Service near Marmarth, North Dakota. The team used high-resolution 3D surface scanning to document each footprint and the full trackway. The resulting digital models allow scientists to examine the tracks in detail and create physical 3D reproductions.
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 visualize on my computer and in VR, enabling me to take as close a look as they did in person!
Peter Falkingham, Professor of Palaeobiology at LJMU and lead author of the description
The trackway records two left and two right footprints, with a stride of approximately 13 feet. Researchers estimate the animal may have been walking about 4 mph, roughly comparable to a brisk human walking pace.
“As a teacher, I’m always telling students that science starts with curiosity and careful observation. I never imagined that could lead me to a discovery like this,” said Kent M. Hups, a teacher at Northglenn High School who discovered the locality and co-authored the paper.
Three of the footprints are expected to be recovered this Autumn and transported to the Museum in Denver for preparation and further research. The recovery, tentatively planned for October, will require the footprints to be lifted from the remote site by helicopter.
The museum plans to share updates from the recovery with guests this autumn.
Other members of the research team include Denver Museum researchers Evan M. Tamez-Galvan and Antoine D. Bercovici. Hups discovered the trackway, Lyson led the fieldwork and Tamez-Galvan conducted the surface scanning, and Falkingham lead the description.
