Oryctodromeus. A friend in the dark of Abberation. Digs functional tunnels.

[xackbelle]

 

 

Common name: Oryctodromeus
Species: Oryctodromeus cubicularis
Time: Late Cretaceous
Diet: Herbivore
Temperment: Skittish

 

 

Wild
We recently came across an unusual species digging and burrowing its way through the caves and cavernous trenches of this lost world. From outward appearances, it seems to resemble a larger version of Oryctodromeus Cubicularis, which was thought to be one of the first non-avian burrowing dinosaurs. I tried to get close to one, but anytime I got within a certain distance they would either run away or quickly burrow underground to hide. I wonder if there is a way to sneak up on one?

After following the Oryctodromeus around I came to discover an entire pack of them traveling together! This may be my first ever encounter with an herbivorous species that exhibits pack-like behavior. They would collectively burrow into the ground to dig up food and to also store food, as well as to breed. After a while of observing their behavior, I witnessed them popping up in different locations than they had initially burrowed into, suggesting they can travel underground!

Domesticated
A colleague of mine reported that he has heard of some tribe members being able to coax Oryctodromeus out of their burrows using their favorite types of food. Once their bellies are full and their trust has been gained, they are fiercely loyal travel companions, capable of traveling at high speeds.

The burrows that Oryctodromeus can dig are also very useful for any tribe in the dangerous caverns of this ark. They can travel a short distance underground, effectively creating a tunnel for medium and smaller-sized dinos to be able to travel through. They can safely dig their way out of caves, and they can also create a burrow to store goods and items in. You can even get your pack of Oryctodromeus to lie in wait to pounce on unsuspecting enemy tribes!

Why Oryctodromeus?
This creature's vote is for something to be added to Aberration, and Aberration is an unforgiving map. There are a ton of dangerous critters from Ravagers to raptors, seekers, nameless, the list goes on. I thought it would be a nice change of pace if we had something added that was a bit simpler and easier for new players on the map, but something that also offered a lot of genuinely useful utility that other creatures simply don't provide. For some, Ark Survival Ascended may be their first introduction to the series, and Oryctodromeus would offer a less aggressive alternative to Ravagers or Raptors for those early to mid-level tames. The taming method is essentially a mini-game of "hide and seek" and feeding it treats along the way, which should be easy for low-level survivors. Since there are no flying creatures in Aberration aside from the Rock Drake, this would offer a new form of transportation and protection from various dangers. Need to hide from something chasing you? Burrow! Need to get to a hard-to-reach location but don't have the means? Create a tunnel there! Trapped in a cave and can't remember how to get out? Now you can! Found some cool loot but you don't have enough weight to carry it? Dig a stash and come back for it later! All of this at a lower level would open up a lot of fun possibilities with it, and still would not invalidate other dinos and creatures because it's still not the best at combat unless it's got a large pack to swarm an enemy with. It's basically a more utility focused raptor. Speedy, but functional. Plus it's been ages since we had a good old simple herbivore creature, and I think they're cute.
 

Abilities Explained:
Ark lacks a genuine digging creature. We have the Basilisk and the Purlovia which both can burrow in a stationary position, but there's nothing that can burrow and also move at the same time. If the Rhyniognatha can be sized up to carry a T-rex and coat enemies in amber, I figure this guy can be sized up a bit too.
Oryctodromeus functions like a less aggressive version of a Raptor. It's just about as fast, has a lot of stamina, but not a lot of weight capacity nor does it have a lot of health. Due to it having a skittish nature, if it is attacked, it will sometimes fight back but other times it will just flee or burrow or tunnel away. They aren't as deadly as a raptor and don't hit very hard, so they aren't great fighters when they don't have a pack with them. But if you do have a pack of 3 or more, they all get a flat 30% damage and movement speed buff.
Oryctodromeus would effectively have 4 unique abilities all centered around digging and burrowing.
Ability 1 - Burrow. This is your classic burrow that both the Basilisk and the Purlovia have. What differentiates this ability from others is that Oryctodromeus is a pack animal. So if you are riding on the pack leader, using Burrow will automatically cause all nearby tamed Oryctodromeus to burrow as well, and they will re-emerge when you do.
Ability 2 - Stash. This lets you dig up a small spot and store a set number of items or up to a specific weight amount. Think of it as an emergency storage chest when out and about exploring and you just need to dump a little weight off that you'll come back later to pick up. But be careful! It can be looted by others in PVP if not carefully guarded or monitored.
Ability 3 - Tunnel. This would allow you to dig a functional tunnel that allows fast travel between two points of entry. These entry and exit points will remain after you've completed your dig, and either point can be clicked on to fast-travel to the other point. Tamed dinosaurs as large as a Baryonyx can travel through these entry points as well. This ability would drain your Oryctodromeus' stamina bar much quicker than sprinting, but has much more utility. I have 2 different ideas on how the controls for this would work.
Idea 1 - Upon activating the ability you will burrow into the ground and create the entry point. The camera will zoom out, and at the center of your hud will be the exit point for your tunnel. You place this exit point the same as if you were about to place an object at the farthest distance the system will allow based on the available range. You choose a location (within that set range) to create this exit point and upon creating the exit point you and your Oryctodromeus will quickly travel to and pop out of the new exit point, completing the tunnel.
Idea 2 - Give the player full control and dig through the land similar to how the Ark Additions Concavenator functions. Dig freely through the ground using the players normal movement controls and once you choose to emerge (or if your stamina runs out) you and your Oryctodromeus will pop out and create a new exit point, completing the tunnel.
Ability 4 - Escape. This one is niche and subject to feedback. This is a straightforward get-out-of-jail-free card for caving explorations. Oryctodromeus will dig you back to the entrance of the cave. Like an escape rope in pokemon games.

Taming method:
Oryctodromeus can't be tamed by knocking it out. You have to win its trust. Now we've had some unique taming methods lately that can be a little over-involved. So what if the taming method was involved, but wasn't difficult? For Oryctodromeus, their taming method can be boiled down to hide and seek. After finding a pack of them, and finding the one you want to tame, you will walk up to it (without spooking it) and you will get a prompt to pet it. After petting it, Oryctodromeus will then prompt you to feed it a random food item. Lower-level Oryctodromeus will usually just ask for things such as varying amounts of berries or mushrooms (for example: it may ask for 10 Aggeravic mushrooms for one feed, and then 20 narco berries on the next), but more high-level Oryctodromeus may ask for more complex items like honey or tree sap (it will always be naturally occurring items, no veggie cakes or kibble required). After feeding it, it will burrow and tunnel away and re-emerge elsewhere. Track it down by following the dusty trail of its burrowing, and be ready to feed it when it gets hungry again. If you lose sight, don't worry, they eventually start to walk back to their original pack after they begin to lose taming progression. If you don't have the food they want, they will eventually ask for a different item after a short time passes (but you will lose taming effectiveness).

Breeding:
I just thought it would be a fun twist if they were shy and would only breed if a mating pair were burrowed within close proximity. They like their privacy After breeding there will be a new underground stash nearby their burrow with any new eggs placed within it for you to be able to access. So you could leave them there for a while and so long as you don't remove the eggs from the stash they will stay preserved and will accumulate extra eggs if the dinos mate in repeated succession.

Edited July 8, 2023 by xackbelle
added image

[Troglobitelover]

Oryctodromeus (meaning "digging runner") was a genus of small orodromine thescelosaurid dinosaur. Fossils are known from the Late Cretaceous Blackleaf Formation of southwestern Montana and the Wayan Formation of southeastern Idaho, USA, both of the Cenomanian stage, roughly 95 million years ago. A member of the small, presumably fast-running herbivorous family Thescelosauridae, Oryctodromeus is the first non-avian dinosaur published that shows evidence of burrowing behavior.

 

Oryctodromeus was originally described as lacking ossified tendons in the tail. However, specimens from the Wayan Formation demonstrate the presence of a thick tendon lattice in the dorsal, sacral, and caudal columns of some specimens; perhaps indicating more flexibility in ossified tendons than has previously been supposed.[1] Adaptations in the jaws, forelimbs, and pelvis were described in the Blackleaf specimens that could have helped move and manipulate soil.[2]

The authors pointed out that Oryctodromeus had only modest forelimb modifications in comparison to dedicated burrowing animals, like moles, echidnas, and wombats. Instead, it was comparable to, but somewhat more specialized for digging than animals that both run and burrow today, like aardwolves, cavies, hyenas, and rabbits. Because it was a biped, it could have a more modified forelimb without affecting its ability to run.[2]

 

The three Oryctodromeus individuals were found buried within the remains of an underground den or burrow that measured about 2 meters (6.6 feet) long and 70 centimeters (2.3 feet) wide. The skeletons were densely packed and disarticulated, indicating that the animals died and decayed within the burrow. The burrow is similar to those made by hyenas and puffins today. It was filled with sand, and the resulting sandstone stands out against the surrounding mudstone and claystone.

There are two turns in the preserved burrow section, and smaller secondary sandstone cylinders of various sizes (a few centimeters or inches in cross-section at most) that were probably made by smaller animals sharing the burrow (commensal). The burrow closely fits the probable proportions of the adult dinosaur, another indication that it was the digger.