First Continuous T-Rex Trackway Discovered in North Dakota
Paleontologists have uncovered a 23-foot series of four T-Rex footprints in the Hell Creek Formation, marking the first known continuous trackway of the species.
Archaeologists working in North Dakota's Badlands have identified a series of four three-toed footprints belonging to a Tyrannosaurus rex, spanning about 23 feet. The trackway, found in the Hell Creek Formation, represents the first continuous set of T-rex footprints ever recorded, although isolated prints from both adult and juvenile specimens have been known.
The prints, each roughly 3.3 feet long, were located after a Colorado schoolteacher, Kent Hups, reported the find to researchers. The footprints are being prepared for transport to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, where they will be studied further.
"Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behavior," said Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the museum. "With a trackway, we can actually follow an animal as it moved across the landscape. That is incredibly rare for T-Rex."
Scientists also reported the presence of T-rex skeletal remains in the same area. The trackway is slated to be airlifted by helicopter to the museum for preservation and display.