Anadara sp. fossil Pelecypod from Florida

Today I'm featuring a pair of fossil Pelecypods from Rucks Pit, Ft. Drum, Florida. This site is well know for the golden calcite filled clam geodes, most notably of the species Mercenaria permagna (Venus Clams). The fossils I have are from the genus Anadara sp. otherwise called "Ark Shells". Most people go for the flashy (and Fluorescent) Calcite that is best shown by removing a portion of the geode walls but I wanted these more for the fossils.

Specimen #1

Specimen #2

The sediments at Rucks Pit are Pliocene to Pleistocene aged (Piacenzian to Gelasian stage respectively) with most fossils coming from the Nashua-Caloosahatchee unit (informal). It's a transitional unit between the Caloosahatchee "beds" found further south and the Nashua formation found to the north. There is a nice write up of the pit with history, geology and paleontology discussed in a guidebook from the Southeastern Geological Society than can be downloaded here as a .pdf.

If you want to get some specimens for your collection from the source, check out the Apalachee Minerals website.