Shastasaurus: Giant marine reptile Leviathan with submarine saddle

[Dpooly69]

Art once again done by the amazingly talented Riskybiscuits 

Species: Shastasaurus Sikanniensis
Time: Middle-Late Triassic
Diet: Carnivore
Temperament: Passive

Wild
The Shastasaurus is one of the largest ocean dwellers I have ever witnessed on any of the Arks rivalling the Leedsycthis in terms of sheer mass and being too large for even the mighty tusotuthis to grab a hold of. However, despite its titanic size it is incredibly passive mostly ignoring all other creatures in its vicinity as very few are a threat to it with it only really focusing on smaller schools of fish which it feeds on. If a threat does arrive though such as a group of Mosasaurs or a Leedsycthis it has the special ability of echolocation and is able to detect the threat coming from a mile away. Not just that but it’s echolocation is so powerful that it can charge a large sonic blast with it being able to disorient nearly any hostile allowing the creature to make a quick getaway. Also, much like it’s close relative the ichthyosaurus it is a very social animal living in a tight family unit however due to the sheer size of the Shasta's appetite each member requires an enormous quantity of food and as a result the family units must separate to try and find food on their own to avoid competing for food sources. Sadly, due to the family units splitting up to feed many shastas will never reunite with them and will become incredibly isolated as a result.     

Domesticated

As most Shastasaurus have become isolated and alone due to separating from their families all it requires to domesticate one is simple companionship the best way I have found to do this is with it’s close relative the Ichthyosaurus simply bring a group of them over and the 2 species will begin to interact with the Shastasaurus eventually joining the group and therefore your tribe. Once tamed the Shastasaurus makes for an incredible beast of burden able to carry an insane amount of weight due to this a lot of survivors have constructed a special saddle on the back of the creature this saddle is essentially a submarine as anyone inside it is able to breath and survive the intense pressure of the deep ocean. The saddle also comes equipped with Torpedoes that are essential for any underwater combat as they deal heavy explosive damage. And that’s not even the best part of the saddle when the shastasaurus surfaces above the water the saddle will transform and essentially turn the Shastasaurus into a whaling ship coming equipped with Harpoon launchers these harpoons come equipped with Metal wiring that is attached to each harpoon once fired at a creature it prevents them from moving allowing survivors to easily catch creatures.

Abilities and features
 

·When underwater Saddle acts as a submarine survivors will not lose oxygen and will be able to build in it

·Saddle fires torpedoes these are underwater specific projectiles that deal heavy explosive damage upon impact and they can only be crafted in the inventory of the Shasta (similar to the Equus)

·When the Shasta surfaces the saddle transforms into a whaling ship where the submarine dome disappears and opens up to reveal Harpoon guns these guns are manned turrets that come equipped with metal wiring attached to each harpoon and when fired at an enemy creature it prevents them from moving and essentially binds them this can also be done on enemy players and land creatures and if a creature is small enough you are able to reel them in closer even larger creatures can be reeled in if enough Harpoon guns are fired on it. However the guns have their weaknesses to compensate firstly a creature or enemy player can break out of the Harpoon if they struggle enough (similar to the desmodus or Bloodstalker) and the Harpoon turrets have a durability meter and after a while will require repairs

·Saddle also comes equipped with a Submarine scope allowing you to view the surface of the water while submerged it also acts as a magnifying glass and shows the current health and torpidity of a creature

·Cannot be grabbed by a Tuso due to it’s sheer size

·Has echolocation this essentially gives the Shasta a built in submarine radar allowing it to detect any hostile creatures or players in the immediate area and Highlights everything nearby

·Can charge up a sonic blast with it’s echolocation when fired it disorients enemies essentially acting as a flashbang grenade and enabling the shasta to make an escape if the fight looks to be unwinnable this blast also can disable tek structures and gear including tek underwater bases 

·Is very efficient at gathering oil from underwater oil veins and gathers Black pearls effectively from eurypterids and other creatures that drop them 

·Saddle is similar to the andrewsarchus saddle as it doesn't require anything to power it and will produce oxygen in the submarine mode for no cost 

·Shastasaurus can use it's massive tail to create large whirlpools in the water these can trap enemies in them for a short period of time and disorient them 

·Can use a type of suction feeding to suck smaller creatures into it's beak and grip hold of them 

·If swarmed the shasta can fire off a sonar pulse this will be a concussive explosion of sound coming off the shasta that will push all enemies back when the shasta is being swarmed

·Can only be tamed by bringing a bunch of tamed Ichthyosaurus or other Shastasaurus and putting them on wandering near it this will cause the wild shasta to interact with those tames and slowly begin to integrate into your tribe however if one of it's companions or the shasta itself is hurt the taming effectiveness will decrease and if one of them is killed the shasta will no longer be tameable and If the player attacks one of the shasta's companions or the shasta itself the whole group will become hostile to the player 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Dpooly69

[GabrielJ]

Yooo that’s goated 

[Gmanman]

im down for a aquatic dino

[SpacePjoes]

This thing is factually amazing

[AjApit09]

I think we need this amazing Dino , 20/10.

 

[Kbo]

We need this.

 

[fcale]

Está genial necesitamos algo así 

[Dragonslayer22]

I really love it,nice concept 

[wyattandmario]

the sea blimp

[roy3100]

Definitely, a really fitting submission and the Center's deep oceans could be great. I love the submarine saddle concept, I myself had the same idea for one of my submissions but this is arguably more fitting given this creature's sheer size. Good luck with the vote.

[imahuntya]

This is certainly a strange and somewhat unexpected suggestion, but I believe that it fits the map well enough. May the best suggestion win!

[ninjakiller560]

Getting some subnautica vibes here. Would love to see this in the Center

[Panamahat]

Make it extra fat pls 

[ladyteruki]

I've been wanting a submarine for a while (though in my head that was a TLC for the Leeds). And the art makes it look super cool.
Immediate upvote.

[Lucifer15]

ok so a creacher like thise would be a late games tame rather then early game tame i feal to add a bit of game balence you shode have them spawn at the bottem of the oceon where scuba is reqireed to tame

[moonknight223]

this would be so cool and bring new light to the skipped over underwater bases with vaccum compatments

 

[TyrannusDante]

i love it but Shonisaurus is the valid genus, buuuuut has a invalid genus is just amaizing because thats always allosw more creativity! anyway. i love it!

[Chilillo13]

Really cool creature! 

[LeDonkaConka]

Very cool fella

[Hypertek]

I the saddle functions should be split into 2, first: the whaling saddle with standard balista turrets(with maybe harpoons as a new ammo type), and second: the submarine, which will hold people inside, but not creatures(aside from shoulder pets).

[KYmrira]

a submarine like saddle is super interesting

 

[Scribelordd]

What was the inspiration?

[Rockpedro987]

Aquatic

[Dennysgonzalez]

genial

[Spheniod]

I think this a great suhgestion suprised it hasnt been posted alreay this onlything i could see rivaling mosa size