Paleontologists have found what they believe is the first trackway ever linked to an adult T. rex, a discovery that offers rare physical evidence of how the giant predator walked millions of years ago.
The set of four footprints, stretching about 7 meters (23 feet) across a hillside in North Dakota, gives researchers a fresh look at the movement of one of the largest meat-eating dinosaurs to walk the Earth.
The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, led by Peter L. Falkingham of the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom.
The study describes the tracks as roughly 1 meter (3.3 feet) long each, found in the Hell Creek Formation near Marmarth, North Dakota. A researcher identified as KMH located the site in 2025 on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
How researchers dated the newly found footprints
Based on rock layers at the site, scientists estimate the tracks were made about 66.5 million years ago, shortly before the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs.
The footprints were preserved inside rounded sandstone formations that hardened over time, a process that occurs when mineral-rich groundwater seeps into sediment and cements it into rock. That hardening allowed the impressions to survive long after the surrounding, softer ground eroded away.
Although the prints are worn and fractured, researchers say their size and three-toed shape point clearly to a large tyrannosaur. Since T. rex bones have been found repeatedly in the same region, scientists say it is the most likely animal to have made the tracks.
Why this adult T. rex trackway stands out from others
Other tyrannosaur trackways found in Canada and Wyoming measured about half this size, suggesting they belonged to younger or smaller relatives rather than a full-grown T. rex.
The clearest print in the set, measured at just over 0.96 meters (3.1 feet) long and about 0.8 meters (2.6 feet) wide, still showed the outline of three separate toes despite heavy weathering.
Using the spacing between footprints, researchers calculated the animal was walking at roughly 1.5 to 2 meters per second (3.4 to 4.5 miles per hour), a pace considered normal for a creature of its size, similar to speeds seen in other large theropod trackways.
Falkingham’s team noted that the discovery does not reveal new details about T. rex anatomy, since erosion had worn away most fine features. However, they said the find remains significant because it is the first physical trace of footsteps directly tied to a full-sized adult of the species.
Researchers said further digging at the site is unlikely due to the thick layer of rock covering the area, meaning this trackway may remain a rare glimpse into how the massive predator once moved across ancient North Dakota.
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