Eben07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Approved By J. Herman Shepard, Director of the Intelligence Cleaner Agency

The Magmadillo

The Magmadillo was a creature first-featured in Operation : Clean the Cleaners : OPITA 027 during Eben07′s hallucinations caused by a large amount of tranquilizers in his system.

A "Flow" of Magmadillos below Eben07

Naming Origins

The Magmadillo or Dasypus Fervenssilex was the product of an experiment conducted at a  classified laboratory in New Mexico. The purpose was to create a lightweight armor for astronauts that could facilitate re-entry into the atmosphere. The standard armadillo was a perfect test subject because of its rugged exterior mimicked the inner lining of the shielding to be worn by human test subjects.

When conventional tests on compound materials failed, the project decided to experiment with a chemical compound injected to increase resistance to extreme heat exposure. Unfortunately, the resulting compound was fairly unstable, and the side-effect that manifested in the specimens resulted in the Magmadillo being incredibly hot to the touch – melting through their holding pens and escaping.

Physical Characteristics

The Magmadillo is for all purposes the same size and average weight as the normal nine-banded armadillo – making them abour 30 inches long, however, it is believed that some mating or perhaps even some test subjects were the speices of Giant Armadillos and can reach almost 5 feet in length.

Magmadillos are black and yellow colored. Their “softer” parts appear to be covered in a yellow fur and skin, while their carapace is a pitch black. However, when agitated the carapace clearly begins to glow from heat turning hues of red, orange and yellow – should one encounter this coloration it is highly advised to move away from the magmadillo quickly.

It has been difficult to guage how long Magmadillos live as all efforts to track populations have been failures. It is commonly theorized that they live as long as normal armadillos since magmadillos retain the same basic features of armadillo bretheren, including their reproduction. Both armadillo and magmadillo offspring are born as a set of four genetically identical quadruplets.

Behavioral Characteristics

Magmadillos are quite social, often gathering in packs called “flows” which burrow and nest in geothermal pockets around the world. There have been reports of magmadillos near every major active volcano in the world and it is suspected that they are able to traverse the extreme heat under the continental shelves.

Magmadillos love to dig, and there is little data on how far they have traveled into the Earth’s core or mantle. Efforts to track Magmadillos have all failed and they are very shy and wary of humans.

When frightened, they will curl into a ball – this exacerbates their side-effect and causes them to glow red hot. Nobody has ever successfully measured the temperature of this encounter – but it has been observed that sand has turned to glass in their presence.

Magmadillos are extremely dangerous as they generate fourth-degree burns on contact and even radiate a tremendous amount of heat. It is suspected by some I.C.A. researchers and scientists that some California Wildfires are actually ignited by the currently unknown migratory patterns of Magmadillos.

Range and Habitat

Magmadillos are very sensitive to temperatures below 100 degrees Celsius, and do not do well in non-equatorial climate regions. They tend to congregate in areas of extreme heat. It is suspected a large flow exist in Hawaii, mostly with the finding of carcasses near points of contact with lava and water. When a magamadillo cools, it expires and becomes hard as a rock. Some adventure-loving geologist’s have even been caught trying to freeze a magmadillo just for the the stony trophy – however, these experiences often end badly.  Some scientists theorize that a possible explanation for the magmadillos’ current wide spread habitation has occurred through an evolutionary adaptation that allowed them to, in effect, “swim” along sea-bed lava flows.

Magmadillos are known to feed on mostly invertebrates, particularly enjoying fire ants, spiders, and termites that dwell in underground caverns. There are no known cases where magmadillos have be predatory toward humans.