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Paleontologists Discover First Adult Tyrannosaurus Rex Trackway in North Dakota
Just the facts
Paleontologists published a study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology documenting a 23-foot-long trackway discovered on U.S. Forest Service land near Marmarth, North Dakota. Found in 2025 by volunteer Kent Hups during an excavation led by Dr. Tyler Lyson of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, the trackway consists of four three-toed footprints measuring three feet long. Spacing between the footprints indicates the seven-ton dinosaur walked at approximately 3.5 to 4.5 miles per hour roughly 66.5 million years ago. Three of the four fossilized footprints are scheduled to be transported by helicopter to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for display and further study.
Why this is news
Researchers published findings detailing the discovery of the first known trackway left by a full-grown Tyrannosaurus rex in North Dakota.
Sources
This summary is compiled strictly from the original reporting below.