Is this a real fossil?

[RangoTango]

Of all of my fossils this is the one i'm most sceptical about. I bought this as a bone but compared to other specimens I have it is not the spongy texture very often seen on bones. It was labeled as t rex so it is from the Hell creek FM. It does smell as a fossil tho.. Any help will be appriciated.

[Brevicollis]

Looks real to me, the holes seem to be filled with some matrix.

 

And also, who would fake a bone fragment with not that much value ?

I think faking a bone fragment is even harder than actual finding a real one 

[Rockwood]

This is definitely bone. I am curious what a fossil smells like though. 

[Rockwood]

I think the question may have been is it really bone or something else (rock) being represented as bone. 

[Brandy Cole]

I agree that this appears to be mineralized bone instead of rock.  Congrats!

[Fossildude19]

Not sure how someone could attribute it to T-rex, though. Looks awfully dense, for a theropod bone.

[Rockwood]

41 minutes ago, Fossildude19 said:

Not sure how someone could attribute it to T-rex, though. Looks awfully dense, for a theropod bone.

I agree that it would almost have to come from the context that it was found in. Jaw bones, for instance, could be of denser material. 

[Carl]

1 hour ago, Fossildude19 said:

Not sure how someone could attribute it to T-rex, though. Looks awfully dense, for a theropod bone.

That's the easiest part! Put these things in order of commercial appeal:

 

T. rex bone fragment

Indeterminate fossil bone fragment

Hadrosaur bone fragment

Dinosaur bone fragment

[Mark Kmiecik]

6 hours ago, Rockwood said:

I am curious what a fossil smells like though. 

 

Oh, come on. You should know by now! 

[ynot]

8 hours ago, Rockwood said:

I am curious what a fossil smells like though. 

The ones in limestone smell like gunite when ya hit them with a hammer.

[Rockwood]

 We're making this too complicated. A fossil bone has no smell when you try to burn it. It's modern bones that smell. 

[RangoTango]

11 hours ago, Rockwood said:

This is definitely bone. I am curious what a fossil smells like though. 

It smells like the house of a great grandpa/grandma 

[Rockwood]

59 minutes ago, RangoTango said:

It smells like the house of a great grandpa/grandma 

Vanilla extract and pipe tobacco, got it. 

[ynot]

1 hour ago, Rockwood said:

Vanilla extract and pipe tobacco, got it. 

Or ben gay cream and depends.

[TriVeratops]

2 hours ago, ynot said:

Or ben gay cream and depends.

 

Or mothballs, furniture polish and cigars 😶‍🌫️

 

Green River fossils smell like petroleum. All my other fossils smell like rocks.