Spino

Spinosaur

The Spinosaurus (SPY-nuh-SAWR-us) or Spino is one of the dinosaurs in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Basic Info

Dossier

• Wild: Among the carnivores on the Island that can match Tyrannosaurus in size, Spinosaurus aquareliga does not quite match its ferocity.
• Domesticated: Spinosaurus is an incredibly well-rounded apex carnivore. Faster than a Tyrannosaurus in water, able to travel on land unlike a Megalodon, and larger than a Carnotaurus, its all-terrain versatility may be unrivaled. For hunters who wish to have a well-rounded mount, Spinosaurus may be the ideal choice -- If they can acquire one.
• Known Information: Spinosaurus four legs and large sail make it fairly swift on land, and incredibly fast in water. The one comforting fact about Spinosaur is that it seems more at home near water than away from it. While the creature is insatiable while near water, it tends to become more docile as it gets further away from it. On one occasion, I only escaped a Spinosaur by getting far enough from its lake home to make it simply lose interest.

Behavior

Spinosaurus is a deadly predator, however, it has a fairly small aggro range when compared to other large carnivores. It spends most of its time hunting fish and other creatures near the water.
Spinosaurus' are the apex predator of their environment, mainly due to the fact that they don't inhabit the same areas as Tyrannosaurus. Spinosaurus' have lower stamina than many animals within the game, however their all-around versatility make them an excellent mount. They walk on all fours, and swim akin to that of a crocodile. In the water, few creatures can threaten the animal, as they're as fast as the Sarcosuchus they share the island rivers with. They prefer to stay close to the rivers, and will actually stop chasing a prey item if they travel too far from a water source. They also tend to retreat when low on health, in order to survive.

Appearance

Spinosaurus' are massive theropod dinosaurs, however, unlike all other theropods on the island, they're quadruped rather than bipedal. Like most theropods, they're brightly colored. They have a distinctive sail, these sails end in spiky ridges that start near the back of the animal's skull. They have long crocodile-like snouts with nostrils near the front of their eyes, rather than on the end of their snout (useful when catching fish, as Spinosaurus is primarily a piscivore.) They possess ridges along the end of their tail that help them glide through the water, similar to the tails of Sarcosuchus.

Drops

• Raw Meat
• Hide
• Raw Prime Meat

Base Stats and Growth

Attribute	Amount at Level 1	Increase per point
Health	700.0	+180 - 900
Stamina	350.0	+35.0
Oxygen	650.0	65
Food	2600.0	?
Weight	350.0	+14.0
Melee Damage	50.0*	+15% - 30%
Movement Speed	100.0%	+2.5%
Torpor	850.0	+51.0

*The absolute Base Damage is shown here instead of the percentage (always 100% at Level 1).

Note that, although they have a lot of oxygen, the fact that they have it means Spinosaurs are still capable of drowning.

Taming

Level 1 - Level 30
Animals above level 30 will require additional resources to tame.

Time

Taming a Spinosaur can take between 3 - 7 hours depending on the animal's level and your taming strategy.

Resources

• 300 - 800 Narcoberry
• 100 - 300 Narcotic

Note: Spinosaur Torpor will decrease rapidly, keep an eye on it!

Preferred Food

• 150-200 Raw Meat
• 20-40 Raw Prime Meat
• 9-20 Kibble (Argentavis Egg)

Note these are approximations, always bring extra supplies!
Carnivores always prefer Raw Prime Meat!
Resources vary depending on animal's level and your taming strategy!
Updated as of Patch v201.2

KO Strategy

Taming a Spinosaur takes a considerable amount of time, even greater than that of a Tyrannosaurus. Torpor is depleted rapidly, at just over three per second, whilst its hunger is generated slowly. This requires players to constantly check on the Torpor level, unlike many other long-wait dinosaurs, as the torpor level will drop to below 50% in around six minutes.

• 20-75 Tranquilizer Arrows

Utility

Roles

• Diver: High oxygen makes the Spinosaur an exceptional choice of guardian for short dives. With higher damage and health than the average megalodon, they are more than capable of fending them off, make sure to watch oxygen however. (Level up in Health, Damage, and Oxygen)
• Damage: Possessing faster attack speed than the Rex, the Spino also has a slight range advantage and is notably faster, especially in water. (Level up in Health and Damage)
• Tank: With lower health than most other large class dinosaurs, the only noteworthy advantage the Spino has over more traditional tanks is the aforementioned range and speed. Could be useful for kiting of bosses in the nearby future. (Level up in Health, Stamina, and Damage)

Collectibles

• Raw Meat
• Hide
• Raw Prime Meat
• Chitin
• Keratin

Efficiency

	Spinosaur	Hands	Stone Tools	Metal Tools
Raw Meat	✔
Hide				✔
Raw Prime Meat	✔
Chitin				✔
Keratin				✔

Highest yielding technique marked with ✔.

Notes

• Spinosaurus aegyptiacus is the real world dinosaur which Spinosaurus aquareliga is based upon. Early fossil discoveries of Spinosaurus were extremely fragmentary, and paleontologists reconstructed the dinosaur's appearance using bones from similar species (this was a common practice in paleontology, the original Triceratops specimen was reconstructed using parts from over a dozen similar animals). These early specimens lacked the pelvic region and hind limbs, which lead to scientists giving the reconstruction hind legs and a stance similar to other theropod dinosaurs. Recent, more complete fossil discoveries have including the missing pelvic region and hind limbs, showing that they were far too short to support the creature fully on two legs. This has lead many paleontologists to believe that Spinosaurus walked on all fours while on land, 'knuckle-walking' like many modern day apes, or spent the majority of it's time in an aquatic lifestyle like most modern crocodilians. Spinosaurus aegytiacus was the largest land carnivore ever to exist.