Rock Identifier
Fossilized Bone Fragment (Vertebrate Fossil Material (Apatite/Calcium Phosphate)) — fossil
fossil

Fossilized Bone Fragment

Vertebrate Fossil Material (Apatite/Calcium Phosphate)

AI-generated identification · may be incorrect

Hardness: 3.5-5 on Mohs scale; Color: Dark brown, brownish-grey to black; Luster: Dull to earthy; Texture: Honeycomb or porous trabecular structure visible on fresh fractures or weathered surfaces; Specific Gravity: 2.6-3.0

Hardness
3
Color
Dark brown, brownish-grey to black
Luster
Dull to earthy
Identified More fossil →
Explore Fossilized Bone Fragment in the encyclopedia →

Identify your own rocks.

Get a report just like this from any photo, free.

App StoreGoogle Play

Physical properties

Hardness: 3.5-5 on Mohs scale; Color: Dark brown, brownish-grey to black; Luster: Dull to earthy; Texture: Honeycomb or porous trabecular structure visible on fresh fractures or weathered surfaces; Specific Gravity: 2.6-3.0

Formation & geological history

Formed when ancient animal bones were buried rapidly in sediment. Mineral-rich groundwater percolated through the porous bone structure over millions of years, replacing organic collagen and hydroxyapatite with minerals like calcite, silica, or iron oxides. Typically dates from Paleozoic to Pleistocene eras.

Uses & applications

Used primarily as scientific educational specimens, display pieces for fossil collections, and occasionally carved into lapidary art or jewelry.

Geological facts

Fossilized bone can often be distinguished from ordinary rock by touching it to the tongue; the tiny microscopic pores produce a characteristic sticky adherence.

Field identification & locations

Look for distinctive spongy cellular patterns (cancellous bone structure) in cross-section. Commonly found in sedimentary deposits, ancient riverbeds, and badland formations worldwide.

More like this

Other fossil specimens

Probable fossil-bearing rock or mineral concretion (Unidentified carbonate-rich concretion with a possible fossil inclusion) — fossil

Probable fossil-bearing rock or mineral concretion

Unidentified carbonate-rich concretion with a possible fossil inclusion

fossil
Likely fossil oyster shell (Fossilized bivalve shell; exact species cannot be identified from the image) — fossil

Likely fossil oyster shell

Fossilized bivalve shell; exact species cannot be identified from the image

fossil
Crinoid Stem Fossil in Matrix (Phylum Echinodermata, Class Crinoidea) — fossil

Crinoid Stem Fossil in Matrix

Phylum Echinodermata, Class Crinoidea

fossil
Fossiliferous limestone (likely a crinoidal or shell-fragment limestone) (Bioclastic limestone, composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)) — sedimentary

Fossiliferous limestone (likely a crinoidal or shell-fragment limestone)

Bioclastic limestone, composed chiefly of calcite (CaCO₃)

sedimentary
Porous limestone pebble (Calcite-rich limestone (primarily CaCO₃); exact identification is uncertain from the image) — sedimentary

Porous limestone pebble

Calcite-rich limestone (primarily CaCO₃); exact identification is uncertain from the image

sedimentary
Weathered fossil bone fragment (identification uncertain) (Fossilized bone; exact taxon and mineral composition cannot be determined from the image) — fossil

Weathered fossil bone fragment (identification uncertain)

Fossilized bone; exact taxon and mineral composition cannot be determined from the image

fossil