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Armadillo Isopod (Armadillo officinalis)
Armadillo officinalis
The Armadillo officinalis. A true European giant of the arid zones (often 0.8 inches and more) and one of the toughest creatures in the isopod world. Unlike the common Armadillidium, the Officinalis has an incredibly thick, blunt and round carapace, and produces a characteristic noise (hissing stridulation) if frightened in the spherical form. Famous for its immortal resistance to dryness and tortoise-like metabolism, it devours rotten wood and calcium. It is the undisputed king of hot and desert bioactive terrariums.
Class:Malacostraca
Order:Isopoda
Family:Armadillidae
Genus:Armadillo
Species:Armadillo officinalis
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
30 - 60 %
Ambient temperature
23 °C
Day temperature
22 - 26 °C
Night temperature
18 - 20 °C
Substrate depth
>= 7 cm
UVB
None
Species description
Geographic Origin and Habitat: The cited study reports Armadillo officinalis from Mediterranean-type ecosystems in the Mediterranean Basin and on the western coasts of the Black Sea. It does not provide a complete habitat characterization for every part of that range.
Taxonomy and Genetics: The article identifies A. officinalis as a terrestrial isopod in Armadillidae. It does not report genetic results.
Behaviour and Habits: The article reports mainly nocturnal habits. During the hottest hours, individuals remain under rocks or other shelters and can form large aggregates; the authors describe this as likely related to preventing desiccation and predation. In the reported playback experiment, individuals tended to avoid the source of species-specific and non-specific substrate-borne vibrations.
Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism: The stridulatory apparatus is described as a line of scales on the propodus of the fourth and fifth pereopods. The study reports stridulation only while the animal assumes the typical ball shape during conglobation. It does not provide a sexual-dimorphism description.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: In the cited study, specimens collected in Catania, Sicily, were subsequently housed in a terrarium at the University of Pisa. The paper gives no enclosure dimensions, substrate specification, furnishing, or stocking density; it therefore does not establish a general enclosure design.
Lighting and Heating: The study used a climate chamber at 20 °C with a natural photoperiod. These are reported study conditions, not a general captive temperature or lighting target.
Humidity and Hydration: The cited study does not quantify humidity, watering, or hydration management. No captive humidity target is inferred from it.
Feeding and Supplementation: The study reports potato tubers and plane tree leaves as the foods used for its animals. It does not provide quantities, frequency, nutritional completeness, or supplementation guidance.
Compatibility and Coexistence: The study does not assess cohabitation, stocking, or compatibility. It supplies no coexistence recommendation.
Health and Common Diseases: Researchers checked bodily integrity before the playback experiment in their sample of 126 adults. The study does not report diseases, treatments, or veterinary-management guidance.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This species originates from: Europa mediterranea / Asia Minore (Endemico di macchie aride, zone costiere).
Origin
Cosmopolitan or introducedCentral America and CaribbeanEurope, Mediterranean, and West AsiaEast Asia
Terrestrial invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 2 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Venom level
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 2 cm. The El Desinsectador — Armadillo officinalis source reports a maximum adult measurement of 2 cm for this species, recorded as body length. The taxonomic record consulted is Armadillo officinalis. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
Related species
Recommendations grouped by close relatives, companion choices, and similar care.
