Description
Busycon Fossil Whelk
- Busycon rucksorum
- Pleistocene Age (1.8 – 2 Million years Old)
- Rucks Pit
- Okeechobee County, Florida
- This specimen measures 4.62″ wide. The golden calcite crystals will fluoresce under UV light.
- MORE Fossil Bivalves for Sale
WHAT IS A BUSYCON?
Busycon is a genus of very large sea snail in the subfamily Busyconinae. These snails are commonly known in the United States as whelks or Busycon whelks. Less commonly they are loosely, and somewhat misleadingly, called “conchs”.
WHAT IS RUCKS PIT?
Rucks Pit “Fort Drum Crystal Mine” is a deposit that was actually a near-shore marine deposit that represents a former shoreline.
WHAT ARE THE CRYSTALS IN THE CLAMS FOUND THERE?
The beautiful golden calcite crystals form inside of the clam shells by a long process. “The calcite is dissolved from the fossil sea shells by acidic groundwater and then transported downward where it then reprecipitates inside the shells of the clams (called quahogs) and occasionally other mollusks,”
ARE THESE CLAMS STILL BEING MINED?
The mine was closed in 2006 and flooded, so it is not being mined any longer. People still go through the old mine tailings and find mostly broken pieces and parts. Good quality collector specimens are extremely difficult to obtain now as a direct result.
By Jonathan Chen
