Partial Crystal Filled Fossil Clams in Matrix - Rucks Pit, FL

These are partial fossil clams of the species Mercenaria permagna from the the famous Ruck's Pit quarry in Florida. The matrix is 5.6 inches wide and the interior is filled with small partial clams with golden-yellow calcite crystals, almost like a fossil geodes. They are early Pleistocene in age, or somewhere around 2 million years. Supposedly the calcite crystals from this location fluoresce under UV light. The bottom of this piece has many small clams and gastropods still imbedded in the matrix.

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 found. Because of this it's difficult to acquire these remarkable crystal filled fossil shells, particularly ones of high quality such as this one.

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