First Adult T. Rex Trackway Found in North Dakota

A high school science teacher just made paleontology history while volunteering on a fossil dig in North Dakota.

Kent Hups discovered the first adult T. rex trackway ever found, a 23-foot sequence of four three-toed footprints near Marmarth, North Dakota. Each footprint measures roughly three feet long and was left in the Hell Creek Formation about 66.5 million years ago.

While scientists have found isolated T. rex footprints before, this marks the first time they can follow an actual sequence of steps. The discovery gives researchers an unprecedented window into how the most famous dinosaur actually moved through its world.

"Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behavior," explained Tyler Lyson, senior curator at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science who led the dig. "With a trackway, we can actually follow an animal as it moved across the landscape. That is incredibly rare for T. rex."

The research team identified T. rex as the track maker based on the footprints' exceptional size, narrow toe shape, and the abundance of T. rex fossils in the surrounding area. The findings were published this week in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Scientists used high-resolution 3D surface scanning to document each footprint digitally. The technology allowed paleontology experts like Peter Falkingham from Liverpool John Moores University to examine the tracks in virtual reality from thousands of miles away.

The trackway shows two left and two right footprints with a stride of approximately 13 feet. Researchers estimate the dinosaur was walking at a brisk pace of 3.5 to 4.5 mph, roughly the same speed as a human power walker.

Why This Inspires

Hups, a teacher at Northglenn High School, embodies the message he shares with his students daily. "I'm always telling my students that science starts with curiosity, passion and careful observation," he said. "I never imagined that could lead me to a discovery like this."

His journey from classroom educator to published paleontology researcher shows students everywhere that major scientific discoveries aren't reserved for people with fancy degrees. Sometimes they start with someone paying attention, asking questions, and following their curiosity into the field.

Three of the footprints will be recovered by helicopter this fall and transported to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science for public display. The museum plans to share recovery updates with visitors this winter, bringing this ancient moment to life for a new generation of dinosaur enthusiasts.

As Hups told CBS News, examining these tracks is the closest we get to a time machine.