Dunkleosteus

The Dunkleosteus (dun-kul-Os-tee-us,) also referred to as the Dunkly, or simply the Dunk, is one of the creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Behaviour
The Dunkleosteus is a slow, cumbersome fish that slowly wanders the depths of the ocean. It will not deter from its path to attack players, but if it is hurt by any creature (players included) or a player gets too close, it will attack without mercy. If the attacker can hold its position, the Dunkleosteus will flee.

Appearance
The Dunkleosteus is a large fish found in the ARK's oceans. While its body's physique is similar to that of a standard fish with an eel-like tail, its head makes the beast very distinct. The Dunkleosteus's head is totally armoured, except for the eyes. Where most animals have teeth, massive jagged plates of bone exist in its mouth to crush the shells and bones of its prey. These teeth are used by the creature to crush rocks and oil nodes. The Dunkleosteus is slightly larger than a Megalodon, another predator that cruises the same waters.

KO Strategy
Lure into a cave where you can use a rifle to tranq the Dunkleosteus, requires a creature that can go on land, frogs work well with this method. Kiting the Dunkleosteus in a circle will prevent it from hitting you, allowing a simple solo tame as it has a slow turn and is fairly slow moving. This is made much easier with some points in Oxygen.

Contrary to popular belief it does not matter where you shoot the Dunkleosteus; it will take vastly reduced damage (and consequently much less torpor) than expected whether it's shot in the body or head. If you plan to tranq a very high level Dunkleosteus it is advised to bring at least 250 arrows if you're using a primitive crossbow. As such higher-quality crossbows are recommended to reduce the endurance test that knocking out a Dunkleosteus can be.

A more efficient and less expensive way to knock one down is to just grab them with a Tusoteuthis as the Tuso will inflict torpor over time and arrows won’t need to be expended. Note: This is more time consuming method, so prepare to sit for a bit.

In the Ocean biome on Genesis: Part 1, It is possible to build a trap up against the holographic barrier of the Terrariums and use the open room inside to either tranq the Dunkleosteus with a Longneck Rifle, Electric Prods, or even a Mantis wielding a high damage Wooden Club, the latter of which may be the most effective method of applying torpor.

Combat
This section describes how to fight against the Dunkleosteus.

General
The Dunkleosteus is a large, tank-like fish that dwells in the deeper parts of the ocean. It is slightly larger than a Megalodon, which ends up hindering it in certain situations. A poor turning radius allows any player to easily kite it around in a circle, giving time for the player to attack.

Strategy
By utilizing the large turning radius of the Dunkleosteus, the player can stay in a safe area while launching arrows via a crossbow, either to tranquilize or kill it. A large sea mount (Megalodon, Plesiosaur, Mosasaur) can be used to kill one quickly, as they have a relatively slow attack rate. It is not recommended to fight the Dunkleosteus with melee weapons, as it does great damage in a single hit.

Weaponry
Use powerful sea mounts or crossbow weaponry to kill one, or tranquilizer arrows from a crossbow to knock one out for taming. Do not attempt to punch one or whack at one, as a silly act of innocence can elevate into unfortunate loss of the player's inventory, which may or may not be obtainable after death.

Dangers
The Dunkleosteus has a lot of health and powerful bites. They sometimes emerge from nowhere, so surprising ambushes can lead to a quick death for players whose minds are occupied on other topics.The Giganotosaurus is not the only one that can break stone, the Dunkleosteus can be used to besiege an under water base.

Weakness
They can be easily dodged due to their horrible turning radius and slow speed. Take the battle to them and out-maneuver the Dunkleosteus so that it cannot harm you.

Roles

 * Damage/War: Being the only tameable water animal that can break stone structures, the Dunkleosteus gains a niche in water raids. Use them as a cheap method to get into stone bases underwater. (Level up, ,  (130%+) and )
 * Gatherer: Excellent at collecting large amounts of oil and stone from underwater nodes. They will also harvest Black Pearls from dead Eurypterids.  As of 264.3, they can now harvest metal.  (Level up,  and  (130%+))
 * Tank: While less health than a Mosasaurus, the Dunkleosteus has armor (reducing damage taken) and high level of Torpor. This combination can be used to tame other sea animals like the Tusoteuthis if a Mosa is not available.  (Level up,  (130%+) and )
 * Transport: With a base weight of 920, the Dunkelosteus makes for a decent pack animal in the water, as they are a lot easier to tame than the Mosasaurus, though they don't have a platform saddle nor the Mosa's damage/health. (Level up  (130%+),  and )
 * Battle Mount: In Mobile the dunkleosteus can be very tanky if you equip it with a good Saddle and give it a Metal Chain Collar (Level up Health)

Weight Reduction
The Dunkleosteus reduces the weight of the following resources by the listed amount while they are in its inventory:

Notes/Trivia

 * Dino Dossier revealed on 10. July 2015.
 * Dunkleosteus had one of the strongest bite forces of any living creature. Its bite was stronger than a crocodile or a modern great white shark.
 * Despite appearances, Dunkleosteus has no true 'teeth' to speak of. The blades seen within its mouth are actually extensions of the jawbone that are sharpened by grinding against one another.
 * Its name means, approximately: "Dunkle's Bone armor breaker" (in honor of David Dunkle; osteus, Greek for bone; lorica, Latin for (chest-)armor, ruptor, Latin for breaker).
 * Since 264.3, the Dunkleosteus now harvest Metal
 * Dunkleosteus don't produce, much like other sea creatures.
 * In ARK: Survival Evolved Mobile, the Dunkleosteus does not harvest.
 * Dunkleosteus is the only water creature that can break stone.
 * Unlike the bottom shark in game version of Dunkleosteus, the real life counterpart was an apex predator that hunted most other under water creatures during it's time in the late Devonian period, around 358–382 million years ago.