Since dinosaurs usually get the royal treatment in video games, extinct mammals are a rare treat to see. They never actually coexisted with dinosaurs on Earth, but it’s fun to see giant wolves battle against a carnotaur or hunt down a pachy.
Bat
The “It’s in My Hair!” Mammal
Type: Untameable, unrideable Species: Onychonycteris specuncola Abilities: Bite, swarm Appearance: Eocene Epoch
Though the vicious specuncola is only found on the island known as “ARK,” Onychonycteris is the world’s oldest bat genus, existing over 52 million years ago. It lacked the cochlea modern bats use to echolocate, so their diets may not have included many insects. Everything else is fair game.
Direwolf
The Big Slobber Horse Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Canis maxdirus Abilities: Growl, howl, scowl, prowl Appearance: Pleistocene Epoch
Found only on ARK, Maxdirus can be translated to “most fearsome dog.” Its already-apt name becomes more true when it hunts in a large, coordinated pack. Its cousin, Canis dirus, died out toward the end of the Pleistocene Epoch. After much of its megafauna prey died during the Pleistocene extinction, dirus could not compete with its smaller, faster cousin, Canis lupus. If there were ever gray wolves on ARK, it’s possible maxdirus ate them all.
Doedicurus
The Rock Guard Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Doedicurus custosaxum Abilities: Harden Appearance: Pleistocene and Halocene Epochs
Related to the modern armadillo and the extinct Doedicurus clavicaudatus, the custosaxum is built much rounder and sturdier than its cousins. Because of its hard shell and club tail, other creatures on the island tend to leave them alone. Doedicurus doesn’t go looking for fights.
Gigantopithecus
The Big Foot Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Gigantopithecus fibrarator Abilities: Play with human, throw human, pull apart human Appearance: Pleistocene Epoch
Related to Gigantopithecus blacki, this ARK resident overshadows what was previously the largest ever existing ape, standing at almost ten feet tall. It was an herbivore, eating so much bamboo that pandas look like they’re on a diet. The gigantopithecus on ARK is a fan of berries, but it probably strips entire bushes clean, leaves and all. It is sometimes seen giving humans piggy-back rides, possibly because they think humans are ugly, hairless babies.
Mammoth
The Lump Head Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Mammuthus steincaput Abilities: Uproot, trample Appearance: Pilocene Epoch
Its name “stone head” is a reference to the bone “cap” formation on its skull. Unlike other mammoths, the steincaput has a separate tusk that grows upward out of the main tusk. Though extremely heavy and cumbersome, it has likely evolved to protect against larger dinosaurs that live on the island.
Megatherium
The Procrastinator Mammal
Type: Tameable Species: Megatherium formipavor Abilities: Rest Appearance: Pilocene, Pleistocene, and Holocene Epochs
Called “dangerous terror” by some easily spooked ARK researchers, the formipavor is actually an elephant-sized ground sloth. The Megatherium were an exceedingly long-lived genus. They slept through the Pilocene mass extinction and arrived late for the Pleistocene extinction. The Formipavor on ARK must still not have not gotten the memo.
Megaloceros
The Giant Elk Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Megaloceros latuscoronam Abilities: Horn attack, gallop Appearance: Pilocene and Pleistocene Epochs
Megaloceros latuscoronam, translated to “big horn side crown,” stands slightly larger than the almost seven-foot-tall Megaloceros giganteus. They are adept at crippling would-be predators with their horns and then running to safety. ARK’s Giganteus does not actually bear “true antlers” since their horns contain keratin, which is prized and harvested by the island’s saddle industry.
Mesopithecus
The Poop Thrower Mammal
Type: Tameable, unrideable Species: Mesopithecus amicufur Abilities: Shoulder ride, throw feces Appearance: Miocene and Pliocene Epochs
Its name, a corruption of the Latin “amicus” and “fur,” means “friend thief.” This is probably the best name for these monkeys, because they are only friendly with humans who have something to offer. This still-living species of Mesopithecus is sometimes seen riding on humans’ shoulders, possibly because they think humans are their ugly, hairless parents.
Paracer
The Walking Skycraper Mammal
Type: Tameable, Rideable Species: Paraceratherium gigamicus Abilities: Stomp Appearance: Oligocene Epoch
The largest land mammal to ever exist. The Paracer, or Paraceratherium, belongs to the same order as the rhinoceros, tapir, and horse. Its shoulder height alone reaches at least 16 feet. Paracer are generally relaxed and let smaller creatures pass by, but they can be savagely destructive when provoked.
Phiomia
The Porkchop Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Phiomia ignavus Abilities: Scavenge, stampede Appearance: Eocene and Oligocene Epochs
Ignavus means “coward,” though being a coward is smart when one’s only defense is a set of large tusks that’s considerably smaller than the teeth of most animals on this island. Though Phiomia are long extinct in other parts of the world, the presence of humans and domestication of Phiomia may actually save their species here. Once again, bacon saves the day.
Sabertooth
The Smiling Mammal
Type: Tameable, rideable Species: Smilodon brutalis Abilities: Takedown, rend hides Appearance: Pleistocene and Holocene Epochs
Smilodon brutalis only lives on ARK and is the largest of its genus, adapted for taking down the large prey on the island. Smilodons’ teeth and size were specialized to quickly take down large prey without having to give chase. When the world’s megafauna went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, the Sabertooth was unable to sustain its species on the remaining smaller, quicker prey.
Megapithecus
???
Legend tells of a giant white ape bigger than a house. But that just strikes me as islander tall tales. We would have seen something like that by now, wouldn’t we?
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