Can anyone tell me if this is a dinosaur bone or tooth?

I found the rock in the attached photos about 30 miles directly west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The area was a small eroded canyon, which contained hoodoos and other rock formations. A thin (~3-5 inches thick) coal seam and what appeared to be shale was also nearby where I found the rock.

Thanks in advance for any info and/or clues you can provide.

Attached is a photo of the rock.

Another photo.

Photo #3.

Photo #4. This shows that the rock is a bit narrower/flatter on one side.

I can`t ID what you found though it appears to be bone. But if shale was found nearby it could indicate age to a certain degree I`ve read. It takes roughly 10,000 years to deposit enough organic material to form 1cm of shale and longer to petrify these deposits. It varies depending on geological conditions of course.

JSpener-

Couldn't have said it better myself!


Hayduke-

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's a "Dinosaur" bone, though if you can tell me the age of the formation of the age of the formation it was found in, then maybe I can identify it a little better, as I have more information. Thanks!

And, listen to JSpencer, here. He and several others know what they're talking about.

Thank you Raptor, my wife says that I know enough to be dangerous.

I did a bit more research, and although the location where I found my rock is mostly Cretaceous with a bit of Jurassic, my rock is not a dinosaur bone. I e-mailed the photos to a couple of paleontologists at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History, and they determined that my rock is a concretion.

Thanks!

did they have cats around the time of dinosaurs? It looks like something they throw out of the litter box!

Not exactly. Another paleonologist (this one from the BLM) who I e-mailed identified the rock as an Ophiomorhpa, which is essentially a fossilized burrow. Interestingly, that BLM paleontologist is familiar with the area where I found the rock, and said that Saurophaganax fossils have been found there.

Incredible, Hayduke!