Fossil Whelk with Golden Calcite Crystals - 2.7"

This is a fossil Whelk (Busycon rucksorum) with some golden colored calcite crystals. It is 2.7" long and approximately 2 million years old. While I have not tried to myself, supposedly the calcite crystals from this location fluoresce under UV light.

The whelk comes from "Ruck's Pit" in Florida. Ruck's Pit was a small cement quarry, that for several years in the early 2000's produced some amazing crystal lined fossils. The quarry has been shut down and filled in with water for several years, so these fossils are no longer being collected. Because of this, it's difficult to acquire these remarkable crystal filled fossil shells, particularly ones of high quality such as this one.

Welk's were predatory sea snails that fed mainly on bivalves.

A geological paper on they unique geology and fossil occurrences in Ruck's Pit can be found here.