Vogdes Scallop Shell, Euvola vogdesi

Vogdes Scallop Shell, Euvola vogdesi. Shell collected from within the estuary of the Magdalena Bay complex, Baja California Sur, October 2018. Size: 6.6 cm (2.6 inches) x 7.0 cm (2.8 inches).

Vogdes Scallop Shell, Euvola vogdesi. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2025. Size: 7.5 cm (3.0 inches) x 7.3 cm (2.9 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Vogdes Scallop Shell, Euvola vogdesi. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2025. Size: 7.6 cm (3.0 inches) x 7.5 cm (3.0 inches) x 3.5 cm (1.4 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.Vogdes Scallop Shell, Euvola vogdesi. Shell collected off the beach of Punta Chivato, Baja California Sur, May 2025. Size: 8.6 cm (3.4 inches) x 7.8 cm (3.1 inches) x 3.4 cm (1.4 inches). Collection, photographs and identification courtesy of Colin Campbell, DVM, Punta Chivato.

Phylogeny: The Vogdes Scallop, Euvola vogdesi (Arnold, 1906), is a bivalve mollusk that is a member of the Pectinidae Family of Scallop Shells. The Euvola Genus is one of sixty-four genera in the Pectinidae Family, and there are ten species in the Euvola Genus. They are also known as the Concave Scallop Shell, the Mexican Deep Scallop Shell and the Vogde Scallop Shell and in Mexico as Almeja Voladora and Viere de Vogde. Their Mexican common name “Volador” or flyer, stems from their ability to swim rapidly by a quick opening and closing of their valves. This species was named in honor of Andrew Wayne Vogdes, a famous Paleontologist and a significant player in the history of the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Description: Vogdes Scallop Shell has a slightly concave left valve and a very convex right value for which it is named. The left valve has radiating flat ribs and the right valve has rounded ribs. The shell has an overall reddish-brown exterior and the right valve has a buffy yellow to orange tinge. Vogdes Scallop Shells reach a maximum of 11.7 cm (4.6 inches) in length and 10.7 cm (4.2 inches) in height.

Habitat and Distribution: Vogdes Scallops are found over and within sand and mud substrate. They live in the intertidal zone, and to depths of 155 m (510 feet). Vodges Scallops are a subtropical to tropical Eastern Pacific Species that are found in all Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean.

Ecology and Behavior: Vogdes Scallops are suspension feeders that feed primarily on plankton. They are gonochoric and reproduce sexually, through broadcast spawning, with external fertilization.  Their engagement in any type of commensal, parasitic, or symbiotic relationship has not been formally documented. From a conservation perspective the Vogdes’s Scallop has not been formally evaluated. However, they are fairly common with a relatively wide distribution and should be considered to be of Least Concern. Vogdes Scallops are edible and are farmed, fished and sold commercially.

Synonyms: Argopecten vogdesi, Argopecten vogdesi vogdesi, Oppenheimopecten vogdesi, Pecten (Euvola)  cataracts, Pecten dentatus, Pecten excavatus,  and Pecten (Pecten) vogdesi.