Footprint type

Tetrapodosaurus

Sternberg 1932

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

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How sure are we?0 high14 medium7 lowHow we rate confidence

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 12 October 2026

121.4–89.8 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

Solid: the ages of its dated fossils, 121.4–89.8 million years ago (Omnisaura's calculation). Pale: the published range, 170.9–66 million years ago, which also counts records Omnisaura leaves out.

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

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 records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 43 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Found in: Canada
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (36 records).
United States
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (10 records).
Mexico
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: Dunvegan
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Gates
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (22 records).
Gething
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Kaskapau
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Naturita
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (4 records).
Patuxent
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Cedar Mountain
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Chignik
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Gorman Creek
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Nanushuk
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Wapiti
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Zorrillo-Taberna Indiferenciadas
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.
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.

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

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 "?").
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, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Tetrapodosaurus 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.

Found in the same rocks

Genera and other fossil types from the same formations, from rocks of the same age.

Amblydactylus Irenesauripus Columbosauripus Ornithomimipus Brontopodus Gypsichnites Hypsiloichnus Ruopodosaurus Dakotasaurus Ostendichnus Animantarx Brontomerus Cedarpelta Deinonychus Dromaeosauripus Dromaeosaurusand 5 more

Same family

Other genera in Tetrapodosauridae with a full profile.

Tetrasauropus

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