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Scientists uncover first known adult T. rex trackway dating back 66.5 million years

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Cite

Weather, F. (2026, September 11). Scientists uncover first known adult T. rex trackway dating back 66.5 million years. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/11/science/scientists-uncover-first-known-t-rex-trackway-in-north-dakota/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-11 · by FOX Weather

Quick Summary

Paleontologists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University discovered a 23-foot long Tyrannosaurus rex trackway in southwestern North Dakota's badlands. The trackway consists of four connected, three-toed footprints with toes measuring about 3.3 feet long. According to the researchers, the T. rex was likely walking at a speed of approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mph and had a stride of around 13 feet. The discovery is significant as it provides rare insight into the behavior of an adult T. rex during the Cretaceous Period, about 66.5 million years ago.
Written by AI on 2026-09-11, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In 2025, a high school science teacher named Kent Hups discovered four connected three-toed footprints in the Hell Creek Formation in southwestern North Dakota. The tracks, which measure about 23 feet long and date back approximately 66.5 million years, are believed to be from an adult Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex). Scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University used a 3D scanner to analyze the prints, confirming they were made by a T. rex moving at roughly 3.5 to 4.5 mph with strides measuring about 13 feet long.

The significance lies in providing direct evidence of T. rex movement across the landscape, rather than just skeletal remains or isolated footprints. The Hell Creek Formation spans parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming, a region that was once covered by broad floodplains during the late Cretaceous Period. This discovery offers unprecedented insight into how one of the most iconic predators behaved 66.5 million years ago.

Written for “T Rex Trackway Discovery” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 T Rex Trackway Discovery
Science · 4 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Times of India
Hedges 15 of 94 claims Outlet record 59/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
4 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Science
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-11 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15998 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

FOX Weather
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Topics

England Liverpool John Moores University Montana North Dakota the Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Subjects

the Denver Museum of Nature & Science ORG · 4× Liverpool John Moores University ORG · 3× Tyler Lyson PERSON · 3× England GPE · 2× North Dakota GPE · 2× Montana GPE · 1× Peter Falkingham PERSON · 1× Slope County GPE · 1× the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology ORG · 1× the US Forest Service ORG · 1×

Narrative

Paleontologists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England, found four connected, large, three-toed footprints in the North Dakota badlands, not far from the Montana border.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-11
🔮 When the team first discovered the trackway, the site was scanned using a 3D scanner to further support their hypothesis. “The technology we’re able to apply in the digital age means my colleagues could scan the tracks in the field and then send the 3D information over to me to visualize on my computer and in VR, enabling me to take as close a look as they did in person,” Peter Falkingham, a professor of paleobiology at Liverpool John Moores University and lead author of the study said.

Claims (17 extracted, 4 hedged)

The first known trackway made by an adult Tyrannosaurus rex (T. rex) was recently discovered in southwestern North Dakota by a team of scientists. asserted
trackway → know → scientists
Paleontologists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England, found four connected, large, three-toed footprints in the North Dakota badlands, not far from the Montana border. asserted
Paleontologists → find → border
According to a paper published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the trackway is roughly 23 feet long, with the toes measuring around 3.3 feet long. uncertain
toes → accord → Paleontology
The spacing between the prints indicates the dinosaur had a stride of about 13 feet and was likely walking at a speed of approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mph. asserted
dinosaur → indicate → mph
“Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behavior,” Tyler Lyson, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science said. asserted
Lyson → tell → Nature
“With a trackway, we can actually follow an animal as it moved across the landscape. asserted
it → follow → landscape
The trackway was found in 2025 on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, which is managed by the US Forest Service, in Slope County. asserted
which → find → County
The tracks are preserved as fine-grained sandstone concretions cemented with calcium carbonate, which nucleated around footprint depressions, according to the article. uncertain
which → preserve → article
The researchers noted that, before the discovery, large theropod tracks were uncommon within the Hell Creek Formation, which is a division of mostly Upper Cretaceous and some Lower Paleocene rock in North America. asserted
which → note → America
When the team first discovered the trackway, the site was scanned using a 3D scanner to further support their hypothesis. “The technology we’re able to apply in the digital age means my colleagues could scan the tracks in the field and then send the 3D information over to me to visualize on my computer and in VR, enabling me to take as close a look as they did in person,” Peter Falkingham, a professor of paleobiology at Liverpool John Moores University and lead author of the study said. uncertain
Falkingham → discover → study
The team also found T. rex skeletal elements and skeletons in the local area, further strengthening their belief that the tracks were made by T. rex. asserted
tracks → find → rex
The tracks date to about 66.5 million years ago, near the very end of the Cretaceous Period, shortly before an asteroid impact wiped out the dinosaurs. asserted
impact → date → dinosaurs
The footprints are expected to be recovered this fall and transported to the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. asserted
footprints → expect → Science
The first-ever adult T. rex trackway discovered by scientists from the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and Liverpool John Moores University in England is pictured. asserted
trackway → discover → England
The spacing between the prints indicates the dinosaur had a stride of about 13 feet and was likely walking at a speed of approximately 3.5 to 4.5 mph. asserted
dinosaur → indicate → mph
The tracks are preserved as fine-grained sandstone concretions cemented with calcium carbonate, which nucleated around footprint depressions. asserted
which → preserve → depressions
Until recently, tracks and trackways associated with non-Tyrannosaurus tyrannosaurids had not provided clear evidence that could be associated with an adult T. rex. Andrey Atuchin uncertain
that → associate → Atuchin
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