T-rex footprints reveal dinosaur’s movement

Researchers in North Dakota, USA, discovered a series of well-preserved Tyrannosaurus rex footprints dating back roughly 66.5 million years.

The team found four footprints, two left and two right, aligned in a row within the Hell Creek Formation near Marmarth. This marks the first time scientists have identified a trackway created by a fully grown T-Rex. Each footprint measures close to one meter in length.

By analyzing the distance between the prints and their size, the scientists estimated the dinosaur stood about four meters tall at the hips. They also determined the T-Rex was walking at a speed of five to seven kilometers per hour, similar to a brisk human walking pace. The footprints were preserved because the dinosaur stepped in soft ground that filled with sand. Over time, mineral-rich groundwater hardened the sand and the edges of the prints.

Later erosion removed the surrounding softer rock, revealing the fossilized tracks. The researchers believe the tracks came from an adult T-Rex because many bones and skeletons of this species have been found in the same area.