Ichthyornis
Shoulder Pet · 20 maps
Overview
The Ichthyornis is a small flyer that serves as a shoulder pet. It reduces the inventory weight of Prime Meat by 70%, making it useful for transporting large quantities. Players tame it primarily to carry Prime Meat efficiently over long distances or while flying on other mounts.
It can be carried by Quetzal or Karkinos for fast deployment.
Spawn Locations
20 mapsIchthyornis spawns commonly on beaches and in city biomes. It appears across 20 ARK maps, with higher concentrations typically found near coastal areas. The green zones on the spawn map indicate the highest spawn density.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Ichthyornis must be knocked out before taming. Use a Bola or Bear Trap to immobilize it, then apply tranquilizers. The best food is Regular Kibble, with Raw Mutton also working well. About 10 units of Regular Kibble are needed. The tame takes around 43 minutes. Use the calculator below for your settings.
| Food | Qty | Time | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|
 Regular KibbleBest | 10 | 42:38 | 73 Lvl (223) |
 Raw Mutton | 20 | 50:01 | 69 Lvl (219) |
 Cooked Lamb Chop | 36 | 1:29:55 | 58 Lvl (208) |
 Raw Prime Fish Meat | 61 | 1:16:16 | 41 Lvl (191) |
 Cooked Prime Fish Meat | 121 | 2:35:25 | 17 Lvl (167) |
| +2 more in calculator→ | |||
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing an Ichthyornis yields Hide and Raw Meat. The Hatchet yields the most Hide, while the Pick favours Raw Meat.
Estimates based on game-extracted data (weights, quantities, harvest multipliers, damage type chains). Each harvest event independently rolls each resource - higher weight = higher drop chance. Actual yields vary with RNG.
Damage Resistances
Ichthyornis has a strong weakness to explosions, taking +50% more damage. It also takes +50% more damage from projectiles and +120% more from Instant HurtDinos. It is highly resistant to Mining Drill Harvest, taking -100% damage. Avoid explosive-based defenses when transporting it.
Kill XP
Wild Kill (1.25×)3 base × 15.9 level × 4 × 1.25× wild kill × 1× server
Server Settings(Game.ini)
Official servers use non-1× defaults; the values above already reflect official rates.
| Stat | Base (Lv.1) | Wild +/Lv | Tamed +/Lv |
|---|---|---|---|
 Health | 50.0 | +10.00 | +4.00% |
 Stamina | 150.0 | +15.00 | +2.00% |
 Torpidity | 120.0 | +7.20 | +0.00% |
 Oxygen | 150.0 | +15.00 | +2.00% |
 Food | 1000.0 | +100.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 55.0 | +1.10 | +0.80% |
 Melee Damage Multiplier | 100.0% | +5.00% | +10.00% |
 Speed Multiplier | 100.0% | +0.00% | +1.00% |
Hitbox Multipliers
The head has a damage multiplier of 3x, making headshots highly effective for faster knockout. Target the head when sedating.
Can Damage
Can break Thatch. Build at least in Wood.
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GrabCarnivore Small Grab Ichthyornis | 1 | 5.5 | — | — | — | — |
| BiteCarnivore Small | 5 | 27.5 | — | — | — | — |
| StealCarnivore Small | 10 | 55.0 | — | — | — | — |
| ChewCarnivore Small Grab Ichthyornis | 24 | 132.0 | — | — | — | — |
Numbers reflect base melee at level 1, 100% TE, no imprint. The damage calculator lets you scale by melee %, server multipliers, and pick a specific structure for exact hit counts.
Tools & Guides
Ichthyornis Tips & Tricks
The Ichthyornis reduces Prime Meat weight by 70%, ideal for long-distance transport.
It can be carried by a Quetzal, preserving its weight reduction effect during flight.
It takes +120% damage from Instant HurtDinos, making spike walls extremely effective.
Its inventory weight reduction applies only to Prime Meat, not other food types.
This page details the Ichthyornis's stats, taming, breeding, harvest specs, and combat data. For precise planning, refer to the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map below.