The first known trackway likely left by Tyrannosaurus rex has been discovered in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation.
According to CNNThe Hell Creek Formation spans parts of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
Most importantly, this is likely the first unequivocal Tyrannosaurus rex trackway.
One was described in New Mexico in 1994, while the other was discovered in 2008 in Montana’s Hell Creek Formation.
Dozens of T. rex skeletons have already been discovered in the Hell Creek Formation, but the trackway provides different information – about the dinosaur’s behavior, stride length, and manner of movement.
Five enormous impressions survived where most dinosaur traces vanish, offering scientists an unusually rare glimpse into how a giant predator moved.
The first known trackway likely left by Tyrannosaurus rex has been discovered in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation. It was found by Kent Hups, a science teacher from Northglenn, Colorado, during a research expedition.
According to CNN
The Hell Creek Formation spans parts of Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Dinosaur bones from the Late Cretaceous are often found in its rocks, but tracks are preserved far less frequently. Sedimentary rocks typically erode before footprints have time to become buried.
My first reaction was complete disbelief. I just sat and stared at the track for a while before I was convinced it was even a footprint. – Kent Hups
In July 2025, Hups noticed two large, three-toed footprints. Each was approximately 0.9 meters long and 0.6 to 0.8 meters wide. The size and shape of the toes indicated that the tracks were made by a predator, and their scale matched the largest carnivorous dinosaurs in the region.
How the Tracks’ Origins Were Confirmed
Study co-author Tyler Lyson initially sought a sequence of footprints because individual depressions in rock can result from natural weathering. After excavating the site, the researchers found a third and fourth footprint, and later that summer, another one.
All five tracks have three slender toes, with the middle toe longer than the outer ones. This structure matches the foot of T. rex. The other dinosaur in the formation that was large enough to leave such tracks was the duck-billed Edmontosaurus, but its feet had a completely different shape.
The study of the five footprints was published on September 8 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Unlike bones, tracks record the movement of a living animal 66.5 million years ago. They also make it possible to estimate the dinosaur’s stride length and travel speed.
Four consecutive footprints form a stride approximately 4 meters long. The researchers estimate that the dinosaur was moving at between 5.6 and 7 kilometers per hour. This was significantly slower than its maximum speed, as the tracks were likely made in wet ground, where the animal could not run as quickly as it could on a firm surface.
Most importantly, this is likely the first unequivocal Tyrannosaurus rex trackway. – Thomas Holtz Jr., vertebrate paleontologist
Previously, scientists had found only two isolated tracks attributed to a tyrannosaur. One was described in New Mexico in 1994, while the other was discovered in 2008 in Montana’s Hell Creek Formation.
The Denver Museum of Nature and Science plans to remove three of the footprints from North Dakota to examine them for possible traces of tissue and skin.
Dozens of T. rex skeletons have already been discovered in the Hell Creek Formation, but the trackway provides different information – about the dinosaur’s behavior, stride length, and manner of movement. That is why even partially preserved footprints are considered important evidence of this animal’s life 66.5 million years ago.
