X-ray diffraction analysis
The X-ray diffraction phase analysis of the dinosaur bone, using the Rietveld method and taking into consideration the results of the qualitative phase analysis, identified three mineral phases: a strongly F dominated hydroxyl-fluorapatite (92.0 ± 0.5 wt.%), quartz (5.0 ± 0.4 wt.%), and pyrolusite (3.0 ± 0.3 wt.%) (Fig. 2). The hydroxyl-fluorapatite is the main mineral of the bone. Quartz and pyrolusite formed during diagenetic alteration and fossilization of the bone. Quartz and pyrolusite are found almost exclusively as mineral infillings precipitated in the pore spaces of bone and diagenetic cracks (Fig. 3) and are common in dinosaur bones from the Junggar Basin.