The de-excitation of alpha-conjugate nuclei produced in reactions of 35 MeV/nucleon 40 Ca with 40 Ca has been investigated. Particular emphasis is placed on examining the dynamics of collisions leading to projectile-like fragment exit channels. A general exploration of the reaction systematics reveals the binary dissipative character of the collisions and a hierarchy effect similar to that seen for heavier systems. Investigation of the subset of events characterized by a total α-conjugate mass (α particles plus α-conjugate fragments) equal to 40 and atomic number equal to 20 reveal a dominance of α-conjugate exit channels. The hierarchy effect for these channels leads to the production of α-clustered neck structures with potentially exotic geometries and properties.