Granitic rocks. Forms a series with phlogopite. Has several polytypes (1M, 3T, 2M1). Biotite is now a group name for phlogopite, siderophyllite and eastonite.
IMA Status:
Not Approved IMA 1998 - Bitote is now the group name
Locality:
Common world wide. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.
Name Origin:
Named in 1847 after the French physicist, Jean Baptiste Biot (1774 - 1862), who studied the optical properties of the micas.