Scientific name
Porcellio monticola
Porcellio monticola is a flattened, mobile woodlouse unable to close into a ball. Its marbled appearance attracts attention, but identification requires several head and rear-body characters. This profile prioritises natural-history observation. [1][2]
Origin
A species present in the French and German natural-history references consulted; these do not allow its complete range limits to be drawn here. [1][2]
- Deciduous forests
- Detailed identification
- Natural-history observation
Natural-history or taxonomic sources distinguished from breeding accounts; captive limits explicit.
At a glance
Flattened and marbled, Porcellio monticola escapes rapidly and does not close into a ball. Head and uropod details help identify it. [1][2]
| ADULT SIZE | 10–15 mm Senckenberg; 10–16 mm in the French profile. [1][2] |
|---|---|
| LIFESPAN | Not established No supported individual lifespan in the selected sources. |
| LIFESTYLE | Forest-dwelling, fast Under wood and leaves; also near streams. [1][2] |
Adult size
10–15 mm at Senckenberg; 10–16 mm in the French natural-history profile. These values are reported separately, without establishing a new average. [1][2]
Lifespan
No individual lifespan established through a cohort in the selected sources.
Lifestyle
Lives beneath wood and leaves in deciduous forest; moves rapidly when disturbed. Observations also concern stones and bark near streams. [1][2]
Housing
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Forest litter — Natural shelters beneath wood, stones and bark; no captive protocol established. [1][2]
The documented environment includes shelters in contact with the ground and forest litter. No enclosure volume or validated culture protocol is established by these references.
Care parameters
CAPTIVE CLIMATE
Not established — No validated husbandry range in the selected sources.
Humidity
Damp natural environment — Microhabitats near streams; neither air percentage nor immersion tolerance inferred. [2]
Humidity
Documented humid microhabitats [2] Proximity to a stream provides neither an air-humidity percentage nor an immersion tolerance.
Temperature
No captive range established The name monticola alone does not prescribe a mountain regime or a cooling period.
Feeding
DIET AND CALCIUM
Captive food preferences and calcium needs not established in the selected sources. Leaves observed as shelters do not prove a complete diet. [1][2]
Scope of this profile
Natural-history or taxonomic sources distinguished from breeding accounts; captive limits explicit.
Identifying without relying on marbling
Colouring may combine a darker head and pleon with the rest of the body, with tawny lateral ends. Dorsal sculpture is weak. The antennal flagellum has two segments; the frontal lobe is poorly developed and rounded. [2] Photographing several adults distinguishes colour variation from a mixture of species.
Examining useful details
The telson has a short, broad tip; the outer branches of the uropods extend beyond it. The oblique shape of the uropod bases may help, but is difficult to assess. P. spinicornis often has sharper contrasts and more marked sculpture. [2] A blurred dorsal photograph therefore cannot guarantee identification.
Setup, substrate and ventilation
The forest shelters described by Senckenberg provide field context, not a terrarium recipe. [1] If individuals are already held, seek a documented protocol for this species before multiplying interventions. Ventilation must be assessed alongside substrate condition: increasing ventilation and watering simultaneously would make their effects difficult to distinguish.
Diet and calcium
The selected sources study neither P. monticola’s food preferences nor its calcium needs in culture. Presence beneath leaves alone does not demonstrate which tree species are consumed. No supplementation rhythm, mandatory protein food or calcium dose is therefore proposed; a formula intended for another Porcellio does not constitute validation.
Reproduction and young
The Senckenberg profile provides for displaying observations by sex and life stage but gives no quantified captive cycle here. [1] The selected data establish neither maturity, brood size nor reproduction frequency. To recognise juveniles, request identification rather than automatically assigning the name of nearby adults.
Observing the shelter rather than moving the population
In the field, describing cover, contact between bark and ground and visible moisture helps explain an encounter. The rapid escape reported for this species explains why an individual may disappear as soon as its shelter is lifted. [1] Replace it carefully and prefer photographs to collection for breeding without a protocol.
Checklist
- Check head, telson and uropods.
- Record the microhabitat without destroying the shelter.
- Do not infer captive parameters solely from the species name.
Observations to record
- Photographs with a scale
- Shelter and soil moisture
- Dated life-stage observations
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Sources
Document-based overview; not a substitute for veterinary advice.
- Senckenberg — Bodentier⁴ : Porcellio monticola
Source accessed - Les carnets nature de Jessica — Porcellio monticola
Source accessed