Footprint type
Tetrapodosaurus
Tetrapodosaurus is a footprint type: the name is for the fossil footprints themselves. The animal that made them is not known for certain. Its footprints are found in rocks 121.4–89.8 million years old in Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.
At a glance
Data as of 11 October 2026- Named by
- Sternberg 1932
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- C. M. Sternberg (1932). Dinosaur tracks from Peace River, British Columbia. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 68: 59–85. Read it
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Sternberg 1932).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
- Dated to
- Bajocian to Maastrichtian, 170.9–66 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation121.4–89.8 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 43 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Found in
- CanadaUnited States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (36 records).Mexicomedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (10 records).low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- DunveganGates
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Gethingmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (22 records).Kaskapaumedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Naturitamedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Patuxentmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).Cedar Mountainmedium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).Chigniklow
low: Only one PBDB record.Gorman Creeklow
low: Only one PBDB record.Nanushuklow
low: Only one PBDB record.Wapitilow
low: Only one PBDB record.Zorrillo-Taberna Indiferenciadaslow
low: Only one PBDB record.low
low: Only one PBDB record.mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Footprint family
- Tetrapodosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Tetrapodosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Species named in its records
- Tetrapodosaurus borealis
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
- Known from
- Footprints and traces
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
- Made by
- Not known for certain. Footprints rarely show which animal made them.
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- The animal that made them: not known for certain, as for most footprint types.
- Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 5 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).
Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Tetrapodosaurus had gone at least 6.2 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Tetrapodosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Found in the same rocks 21
Genera and other fossil types from the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Named by Sternberg 14
Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.
Found in Canada 7
Other genera found in Canada, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines