First T. rex Trackway Confirms the Predator Walked at a Brisk Human Pace
Researchers have identified the first confirmed trackway of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex, offering the first direct evidence of its walking speed. Discovered in North Dakota’s Hell Creek Formation, the 66.5-million-year-old prints indicate the dinosaur moved at approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mph, a pace comparable to a brisk human walk. The finding, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, resolves long-standing debates about T. rex locomotion by providing behavioral data that skeletal fossils cannot capture. Three of the four footprints are slated for excavation and transport to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for further analysis of skin and tissue impressions.
