Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Modiolus capax Conrad, 1837

seudomejillón capax, Capax horse mussel

Length: 80 mm.

Shallow water (less than 200 m depth), various substrates (rock, pebbles, wood, mud), 0-50 m depth.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Mollusca

Class
Bivalvia

Order
Mytilida

Family
Mytilidae

Genus
Modiolus

Species
capax

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Modiola spatula Menke, 1849; Modiola subfuscata Clessin, 1889, LACM: HH-1833, CAS: 27255, CDRS: 612, 615, 909, 1449, MHNG: expedition to the Galapagos, 1993. Modiola capax Conrad, 1837, Mytilus spatula Menke, 1848, Mytilus splendens Dunker, 1857.

Origin: Native

Status

IUCN Red List Category: Not evaluated

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: California (Santa Cruz) to Peru (Paita) and Ecuador (Galapagos Islands)

References

  • Appeltans, W. Bouchet, P., Boxshall, G.A., Fauchald, K., Gordon, D.P., Hoeksema, B.W., Poore, G.C.B., van Soest, R.W.M., Stöhr, S., Walter, T.C., Costello, M.J. (eds.) (2010) World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Available online at http://www.marinespecies.org.
  • Finet, Y. (1991) The Marine Mollusks of the Galapagos Islands. In: Galápagos Marine Invertebrate. Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Evolution in Darwin's Islands. Plenum Press. New York and London, p. 253-280.
  • Finet, Y. (2001) The marine mollusks of the Galapagos Islands: a documented faunal list. Editions du Muséum d' Histoire naturelle, Genève, 237 pp.
  • Fischer, W. Krupp, F., Schneider, W., Sommer, C., Carpenter, K.E. & Niem, V.H. (1995) Guia FAO para la identificación de especies para los fines de la pesca. Pacifico centro-oriental. Vol. I. Plantas e Invertebrados. FAO, Roma, 646 pp.
  • Hickman, C.P. Jr. Finet, Y. (1999) A Field Guide to the Marine Molluscs of Galápagos. Sugar Spring Press, Lexington, Virginia, 150 pp.
  • Keen, A.M. (1958) Sea Shells of Tropical West America. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, 1st edition, 624 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Modiolus capax", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=8604. Accessed 30 October 2026.