A 66.5-million-year-old trackway captures adult T. rex at walking pace - Phys.org
Scientists have discovered the first-ever trackway of an adult T. rex in North Dakota, providing rare behavioral insights into the dinosaur's movement. The 23-foot-long sequence of footprints was documented using high-resolution 3D scanning.
Why it matters
This discovery offers a unique look at how the apex predator moved across the landscape, moving beyond static fossil analysis to behavioral science.
edited by Swati Mestri , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Credit: Tyler Lyson/Denver Museum of Nature & Science Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England have discovered the first adult T. rex trackway, providing insights into how this emblematic predator moved. The findings are published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology .
The approximately 23-foot-long (7-meter-long) trackway consists of four three-toed footprints discovered in the Hell Creek Formation of southwestern North Dakota. Each footprint is roughly 3 feet (0.9 meters) long, and researchers estimate they were made about 66.5 million years ago.
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