MARMARTH, ND (CBS News Minnesota) – Paleontologists have discovered the first known footprint made by an adult Tyrannosaurus rex: four connected footprints found in the badlands of southwestern North Dakota, not far from the Montana border. The finding is described in a new paper published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Previously, only two isolated tracks of adult T. rex had been confirmed anywhere in the world, one in New Mexico and one in Montana. Neither showed how the animal moved. “The bones tell us a lot about these animals, but the tracks capture a moment of behavior,” said Dr. Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. “With a trail, we can follow an animal as it moves across the landscape. This is incredibly rare for T. rex.” A large tridactyl track from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota, probably attributable to an adult tyrannosaur. Lyson’s excavations. “As a teacher, I always tell my students that science begins with curiosity, passion and careful observation,” Hups said. “I never imagined that could lead to a discovery like this.” The print is approximately 23 feet long and consists of four three-toed prints, each approximately 3 feet long. Researchers used the spacing between the tracks to estimate that the animal was walking between 3.5 and 4.5 mph, despite weighing more than seven tons. A large tridactyl track from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota, probably attributable to an adult tyrannosaur. (National Science Foundation) Researchers attributed the footprints to T. rex based on their size, shape and the fact that the surrounding rock has yielded an unusually high number of Tyrannosaurus bones, including a juvenile specimen nicknamed “Teen Rex,” discovered in the same badlands by three children on a family hike in 2022. The site was 3D scanned by researchers at the Denver Museum, and lead author Peter Falkingham of John’s University Moores of Liverpool in England analyzed the data and wrote the article without visiting North Dakota in person. Three of the four prints will be transported by helicopter this fall and taken to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. The footprints date back to approximately 66.5 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous period, and are known to have been one of the last walks a T. rex made before scientists believe an asteroid impact wiped out the dinosaurs. Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
