Ayak izleri yetişkin bir T. rex’i hareket hâlinde gösteriyor

A 23-foot sequence of fossil footprints in southwestern North Dakota has given researchers an unusually direct glimpse of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex moving through its environment. The trackway contains two left and two right prints, each about three feet long, preserved in rocks approximately 66.5 million years old. Scientists consider T. rex the most likely trackmaker because of the prints’ exceptional size, narrow toes and the abundance of its fossils nearby. Their conclusion remains cautious, since weathering has damaged the tracks and no body fossil is physically attached to them. High-resolution surface scans allowed the team to build detailed digital models and share them with a specialist in Britain, who examined the site virtually. The spacing between the prints suggests a stride of about 13 feet and a speed of 3.5 to 4.5 miles per hour, similar to a brisk human walk. Unlike bones, the sequence preserves a brief record of actual behaviour.