Schoolteacher stumbles across world's first known T-Rex footprint trail in astonishing discovery

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The findings have unlocked an 'incredibly rare' insight into the ferocious reptilian predator

A schoolteacher has stumbled across what's thought to be the world's first set of T-Rex footprints.

The four massive three-toed prints, more than 66 million years old, were found in North Dakota after the teacher came across them on a hike.

Each footprint measures roughly 3.3 feet long, with the trail stretching across 23 feet of ground.

Scientists who have analysed the prints now think they date back approximately 66.5 million years.

The tracks were identified in the Hells Creek Formation, a well-known dinosaur fossil site.

Researchers from the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and Liverpool John Moores University carried out the work.

Although individual footprints and tracks from young T-Rex specimens have been discovered previously, this is the first time a continuous trail from an adult has been found.

Colorado schoolteacher Kent Hups, who co-authored the research paper, was stunned by his discovery.

He said: "As a teacher, I'm always telling my students that science starts with curiosity, passion and careful observation.

"I never imagined that could lead me to a discovery like this."

Tyler Lyson, a senior curator of vertebrate palaeontology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, said: "With a trackway, we can actually follow an animal as it moved across the landscape.

"Bones tell us an enormous amount about these animals, but footprints capture a moment of behaviour."

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The ancient imprints were preserved when sandstone solidified around the depressions, turning them into fossils.

Three of the four prints will be airlifted by helicopter later this year and taken to the Denver museum.

T-Rex remains in the surrounding area bolstered the team's conclusion that the tracks belonged to the species.

The T-Rex, widely regarded as the most iconic dinosaur, roamed the Earth during the Cretaceous period between 66 and 68 million years ago.

Standing 12 to 13 feet tall, it was one of the last non-avian dinosaurs alive before a catastrophic mass extinction event brought their reign to an end.

In a separate but equally notable discovery, scientists have also found a piece of fossilised dinosaur dung containing a remarkably well-preserved bird feather.

The feather survived inside the solidified excrement, known as coprolite, for some 66 million years.

The specimen is thought to have come from a medium-sized dinosaur, possibly a juvenile T-Rex, in what is now Montana.

The find could shed light on why birds outlasted the asteroid impact that destroyed the dinosaurs.

Jingmai O'Connor, the lead author of the newly published findings, explained: "It's such a beautiful, well-preserved feather, from such an unexpected source, and it's exciting that it could help us answer this huge question in paleontology."