Three Fossil Clams with Fluorescent Calcite Crystals - Ruck's Pit, FL

This is a 9.9" wide association of three fossil clams (Mercenaria permagna) from the the famous Ruck's Pit quarry in Florida. The interior of the largest clam and a partial clam are filled with golden-yellow calcite crystals which are highly fluorescent under both short and long-wave UV. These fossils are Early Pleistocene in age, or approximately 2 million years old. This specimen is surrounded by a large amount of the fossiliferous concretion it was found in. Overall a very interesting piece.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

Rucks' Pit was a small cement quarry that produced some amazing crystal lined fossils during the 2000s. Around 2006, the quarry was shut down and filled in with water. While some material can still be found in tailing piles from the quarry, high quality specimens of these remarkable crystal-filled fossils are becoming hard to acquire.

A geological paper on the unique geology and fossil occurrences in Rucks' Pit can be found here.

SPECIES

Mercenaria permagna

AGE

Early Pleistocene (2 Million Years Old)