Tyrannosaurus rex walked like humans, fossilized footprints reveal
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In North Dakota, United States, Kent Haps, a high school science teacher volunteering on a fossil dig, discovered a trackway of footprints left by an adult Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The trackway, spanning seven meters, contains four preserved footprints showing how the massive dinosaur moved. Researchers determined the T. rex walked at a relaxed pace between 1.5 and 2 meters per second, similar to a fast human walk.
Previously, scientists had only found individual footprints from adult T. rex, limiting their understanding of the dinosaur’s gait. This complete trackway allowed them to examine the dinosaur’s foot placement and stride length for the first time. Dr. Tyler Lyson of the Denver Museum of Science & Nature explained that footprints capture a moment in an animal’s behavior, offering insights beyond what bones alone can reveal. Dr.
Peter Falkingham, a paleobiologist at Liverpool John Moores University, noted that age affects walking mechanics, just as it does in humans. Younger and older dinosaurs moved differently. The footprints, roughly one meter long, were identified as belonging to a T. rex due to their size, three-toed shape, and the abundance of T. rex skeletons found nearby. Researchers are continuing excavations at the site, believing a fifth footprint may still be buried and revealed by erosion.
