Imagine the scene without the movie soundtrack. A giant predator crosses soft ground, plants one foot, then the other, and continues beyond the patch that will survive. However, the tracks do not reveal whether it was hunting, traveling, or simply wandering. Their appeal lies in something more ordinary: even a legendary dinosaur had to get from one place to another.

Now, that brief journey has become a scientific discovery. The roughly 23-foot trackway contains two left and two right footprints, with an estimated 13-foot stride. Researchers describe it as the first known trackway likely attributable to an adult T. rex. Denver Museum of Nature & Science announcement.

Four Giant Footprints in North Dakota

Kent M. Hups, a teacher at Northglenn High School, discovered the site in 2025 near Marmarth, North Dakota. The locality sits on federal land that the U.S. Forest Service administers. Its rocks belong to the Hell Creek Formation, and researchers place the footprints at approximately 66.5 million years old.

Each three-toed print measures roughly three feet long. Nevertheless, size alone does not settle the trackmaker’s identity. The researchers also considered the narrow toes and the abundance of T. rex fossils nearby. Together, those clues make an adult tyrannosaur the strongest candidate. Liverpool John Moores University research announcement.

That distinction matters. A footprint does not arrive with a species label, and scientists must weigh several clues before assigning a maker. Consequently, “probable adult T. rex” captures the finding more faithfully than claiming absolute certainty.

The discovery also offers a satisfying reminder about observation. A teacher noticed something worth investigating, and that observation became part of a published scientific study. Sometimes, a major contribution begins with a person looking closely at the ground.

How Fast Did T. rex Walk Along This Trackway?

The team estimates a walking speed of approximately 3.5–4.5 mph, or 5.6–7.2 km/h. That places this dinosaur’s progress in the range of a brisk human walk. However, the comparison concerns speed across the landscape, not matching footsteps.

A stride measures the distance between successive placements of the same foot. For example, the distance from one left footprint to the next left footprint represents a full stride. The intervening right footprint marks the other step. Therefore, the reported 13-foot stride does not mean the animal covered 13 feet with every individual footfall.

Because weathering has damaged the tracks, the researchers emphasize that the speed remains approximate. Think of the range as a reconstruction from surviving evidence, rather than a precise stopwatch reading. Museum explanation of the speed estimate.

Why a Trackway Tells a Different Story Than a Skeleton

A skeleton gives researchers the animal’s physical framework. A trackway adds a record of contact with the ground. In this case, the alternating footprints preserve successive placements of both feet.

Consider the difference between finding one muddy shoeprint and following several across a floor. One impression shows where a foot landed. Several impressions reveal a path and the spacing between steps. Similarly, a fossil trackway gives researchers relationships that an isolated print cannot supply.

Earlier discoveries included individual footprints attributed to adult T. rex. This study’s novelty concerns the sequence likely left by a full-grown animal. It should not be read as the discovery of the first dinosaur footprints, or the first evidence that tyrannosaurs walked. University explanation of the discovery’s significance.

Even so, four prints provide only a short window. They do not explain the animal’s destination, mood, or daily routine. Those unanswered questions make the discovery intriguing without requiring an invented chase scene.

Using 3D Scans to Follow Ancient Steps

Researchers documented the footprints and their arrangement with high-resolution 3D surface scans. Evan Tamez-Galvan conducted the scanning, while Tyler Lyson led the fieldwork. Lead author Peter Falkingham examined the digital data from England using his computer and virtual reality.

As a result, Falkingham could study the trackway without visiting the North Dakota site. The digital models also support physical reproductions for further examination. Liverpool John Moores University’s account of the scanning work.

The contrast is striking: ancient footsteps now travel between researchers as digital information. However, a detailed model can record only the evidence that survives. It cannot restore every feature that erosion has removed.

Does This Reveal a Tyrannosaur’s Top Speed?

No. This trackway concerns one animal’s pace during one preserved stretch of movement. It does not establish the species’ maximum running speed or prove that every adult normally walked at the same pace.

For comparison, your footprints during a walk would not demonstrate your fastest sprint. Likewise, a dinosaur’s walking trail cannot settle every question about its athletic abilities.

That limitation also rules out a tempting headline: this discovery does not prove that a person could outrun T. rex. Matching its estimated walking speed would tell us nothing about what happened if the animal accelerated.

Instead, the finding gives researchers a grounded observation to consider alongside other evidence. Its value comes from the specific behavior it preserves.

An Ordinary Walk With an Extraordinary Afterlife

A famous predator does not need to roar or charge to hold our attention. Here, a few successive footfalls make the animal feel less like a museum silhouette and more like a living creature occupying space.

So, how fast did T. rex walk? These tracks suggest a brisk walking pace for this particular animal, while leaving its wider story open. The dinosaur continued walking; the surviving evidence lets us follow only a few of its steps. That is enough to turn an ordinary journey into a remarkable glimpse of the past.

What fascinates you more: a dinosaur’s skeleton or the footprints it left behind? Share your thoughts in the comments, and subscribe to Chronicle of Curiosity for more discoveries from science, history, and the unexpected.

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Research Reference

Peter L. Falkingham and colleagues. “A large tridactyl trackway from the Upper Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota, likely attributable to an adult Tyrannosaurus rex.” Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2026. Original study.

Editorial verification note: The university announcement dates publication to September 8, 2026; September 9 coverage followed. The publisher blocked full-text access during preparation, so detailed reporting relies on the museum and university announcements. The article preserves their uncertainty about trackmaker identity and speed.

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