Science and Education:
A Unique Theropod Trackway
 

View of the terminal track.   Photo by Japh Boyce

 

Discovered on June 14, 1997 by Mike Triebold in the Hell Creek formation of South Dakota, this trackway is unusual in that the tracks themselves are positives.  In other words, the trackway consists of natural casts of the feet of the dinosaur that made them.  Conditions had to be just perfect for this to happen.   Positive Cast of a Theropod Track, from above. Positive Cast of a Theropod Track, from below. The pads on the bottom of the feet, and the claws, are both clearly visible.  The dinosaur was a large theropod, approaching 8 feet at the hips, but skeletons of this specific dinosaur have never been found.    It was not a T-rex, but very probably one of the very large raptors or oviraptors that are known only from a few scraps, or a very large individual of the New Oviraptor of which we are now producing casts. Digit from a Positive Cast of a Theropod Track The impression of the theropod's skin was left behind in the track. Selected tracks have been molded and are available at $375 each. Available only from:  Triebold Paleontology, Inc. Contact Us: info@trieboldpaleontology.com

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	Paleontological experts, ranchers, and film crew all enjoy the site.
	Closeup of the discovery track.
	A beautiful photo of the terminal track.   Photo by Japh Boyce.
	Procedures used in collecting the tracks.
	Theropod tracks #1-5
	Theropod tracks #5-8
	Theropod tracks #10-13
	Theropod tracks #14-16
	Site map of the entire trackway. Map exceeds screen height. Scroll up and down to view entire map.
	How the tracks were preserved.
	How the tracks were formed.
	Chart showing individual track characteristics.  Chart exceeds screen width. Scroll left & right to view entire chart.