Four ancient footprints have given scientists new clues about how an adult Tyrannosaurus rex moved across the ground millions of years ago. The tracks, described in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, are believed to be the first known trackway clearly attributed to an adult T. rex.
The discovery is important because footprints can reveal details that fossil bones alone cannot. While individual T. rex footprints have been found before, a series of footprints showing an animal’s movement can provide information about its walking speed, stride and posture.
The trackway measures about 7 metres in length. Scientists estimate that the dinosaur was moving at approximately 1.6 metres per second, a speed comparable to a fast human walk.
Researchers believe the finding could help improve understanding of how T. rex moved at different stages of its life. Young T. rex specimens had different body proportions from adults, meaning their walking patterns may also have been different. Scientists compare this to humans, whose movement changes as they grow from children into adults.
Paleontologist Peter Falkingham described the discovery as exciting because of its unusual nature. The tracks provide a rare opportunity to study the movement of an adult T. rex rather than relying only on its skeleton.
The footprints were discovered in 2025 by high school teacher and paleontologist Kent Hups during fossil hunting in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation. This region is well known for fossils from the Late Cretaceous period, including those of dinosaurs that lived near the end of the dinosaur age.
Hups initially noticed one unusually large footprint. The print measured around 80 centimetres across and had three clearly visible toes. Its enormous size and shape immediately suggested that it had been made by a T. rex.
The footprints were preserved because sediment filled the muddy impressions left by the dinosaur. This helped protect the tracks and allowed them to survive longer than the surrounding rock.
Scientists say the discovery provides a rare look at the behaviour and movement of one of the most famous dinosaurs in history. Instead of simply showing what an adult T. rex looked like, the trackway offers evidence of how the giant predator actually moved through its environment.
As researchers continue to study the footprints, they hope the discovery will provide more information about the walking style, speed and body mechanics of adult T. rex and help scientists better understand how these dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.