Pteranodon
Flyer · 21 maps
Overview
The Pteranodon is a small carnivorous flyer. It excels at aerial transport and scouting due to its flight capability and compact size. Players commonly tame it early for fast travel across mountains and oceans.
It can carry small creatures such as Armadoggo, Bloated Revenant, Bulbdog, and Bunny Dodo in its talons for aerial deployment.
Spawn Locations
21 mapsPteranodon spawns on 21 ARK maps, appearing frequently in beach, forest, grassland, mountain, redwood, wasteland, and city biomes. It is very common and often seen flying near cliffs or coastlines. The green zones on the spawn map indicate the highest concentration.
Each shape is a real spawn volume. Click for exact chance and zone info.
Pteranodon must be knocked out before taming. Use a Bola, Chain Bola, or Bear Trap to immobilize it first. Then use Tranq Arrows from a Bow or Crossbow, or Tranquilizer Darts from a Longneck Rifle to induce torpor.
Feed it Regular Kibble for the fastest taming. Raw Mutton also works well. The process takes about 30 minutes and requires no Narcotics at level 150. Use the calculator below for your settings.
| Food | Qty | Time | Effectiveness |
|---|---|---|---|
 Regular KibbleBest | 4 | 17:03 | 74 Lvl (224) |
 Raw Mutton | 7 | 17:31 | 73 Lvl (223) |
 Raw Prime Meat | 9 | 22:31 | 73 Lvl (223) |
 Cooked Lamb Chop | 13 | 32:28 | 71 Lvl (221) |
 Raw Meat | 26 | 1:05:01 | 62 Lvl (212) |
| +6 more in calculator→ | |||
Drops & Harvest Resources
Killing a Pteranodon yields Hide and Raw Meat. The Hatchet yields the most Hide, while the Pick maximizes 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
Pteranodon takes +120% damage from Instant HurtDinos, making it highly vulnerable to certain environmental hazards. It resists Mining Drill Harvest completely, taking -100% damage. Melee attacks with metal weapons deal +55% damage, and projectiles or explosions deal +50% damage. It resists melee attacks with ProjectileImpactFX by 50%. Level Health and Melee Damage.
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 | 210.0 | +42.00 | +3.00% |
 Stamina | 150.0 | +7.50 | +0.80% |
 Torpidity | 120.0 | +7.20 | +0.00% |
 Oxygen | 150.0 | +15.00 | +2.00% |
 Food | 1200.0 | +120.00 | +2.00% |
 Weight | 120.0 | +2.40 | +0.60% |
 Melee Damage Multiplier | 100.0% | +5.00% | +7.50% |
 Speed Multiplier | 100.0% | +0.00% | +2.00% |
Hitbox Multipliers
The head has a 3.0× damage multiplier, making headshots highly effective for faster knockout. Aim for the head when sedating with ranged weapons.
Can Damage
Can break Thatch and Wood. Build at least in Stone.
Thatch
Wood
Stone
Metal
Tek| Attack | Base | Thatch | Wood | Stone | Metal | Tek |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attack 1Carnivore Medium Flyer | 18 | 39.6 | 21.6 | — | — | — |
| Barrel RollCarnivore Medium Flyer HurtRider | 50 | 110.0 | 60.0 | — | — | — |
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
Pteranodon Tips & Tricks
The Barrel Roll attack deals 50 damage and has a short cooldown, useful for knocking back small creatures.
It takes +120% damage from Instant HurtDinos, so avoid areas with such hazards.
Pteranodon can carry small creatures like Compy, Dodo, and Dilophosaur mid-flight for transport.
It is weak to projectile and explosion damage, making it vulnerable to turrets and grenades.
This page details the Pteranodon's stats, taming, breeding, harvest, and combat data. For precise planning, use the taming calculator, breeding calculator, and spawn map below.