This section is intended to be an exact copy of what the survivor Helena Walker, the author of the dossiers, has written. There may be some discrepancies between this text and the in-game creature.
“
Species
Megalania muruspede
Time
Late Holocene
Diet
Carnivore
Temperament
Aggressive
Wild
Megalania muruspede is among the largest creatures found throughout the Island's complicated cave networks. Reaching up to three meters long, it can traverse vertically up cave walls with little difficulty thanks to its powerful claws. Fortunately, Megalania's size means it is unlikely to sneak up on anyone. Unfortunately for spelunkers, it is an aggressive and dangerous creature nonetheless.
Like other Varanidae, Megalania is a venomous creature. Its poison is slow-acting, but will drain the victim's effective strength and health until death unless cured by a rare antidote.
That said, the Megalania's prey are usually ripped apart well before they succumb to the poison's long-term effects.
Domesticated
The rare ability of Megalania to effortlessly climb sheer environmental walls makes it a highly sought-after mount. While it is by no means the fastest, strongest, or toughest mount, the manner in which it can effortlessly scale mountains, clamber up barricades, hide in trees or upside-down, ensures it will always have place in any tribe's stables!
The Megalania is found in many places including caves and caverns across many maps, the Highland Sands of Ragnarok, the volcanic wastes of Genesis and The Trench in the ExtinctionDLC. It waits on the ceilings and walls silently, ready to pounce on prey below. As is the case with other cavern dwellers, Megalania are neutrally disposed toward other native creatures, like Onyc, Dung Beetle, Mantis, and Megalosaurus. They tend to hide in shadowy recesses of ceilings and walls, making them extremely difficult to spot without assistance of items like a Tek Helmet. Consuming Rare Flowers will cause them to drop from the ceiling and become aggressive. Similar to the Megalosaurus, Megalania are usually only found in limited numbers in a given cave, so while it may be common to find them in the Upper South Cave, for instance, not many live there at any given time. Aside from surprise, they have two additional main weapons- the first being their large mouth full of teeth, the second being a deadly virus-based poison that survivors call Mega Rabies. If bitten, this virus can kill quickly, even if you kill the Megalania itself. On some maps they can also be found roaming the surface. They are far less dangerous in this circumstance: Territorial beasts that are easily spotted, slow to anger, slow of movement and quick to give up a chase- but still pack the same deadly punch as their cave dwelling counterparts if you can’t or won’t get out of their way.
Appearance
The Megalania is a huge lizard resembling a Komodo Dragon. It has a stocky, low-lying build with a powerful tail and a toothy maw, drooling with venom. Despite its size, it is capable of climbing walls like a gecko to sneak up on prey and traverse difficult terrain - a useful adaptation for a massive cave-dweller like it.
Color Scheme and Regions
Region 0:Main Body
Natural colors:
8
13
14
21
22
23
24
25
26
32
33
34
35
45
Region 1:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 2:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 3:Unused
This region does not show on the body.
Region 4:Stripes
Natural colors:
8
13
14
21
22
23
24
25
26
32
33
34
35
42
46
48
50
51
Region 5:Belly
Natural colors:
8
13
14
21
22
23
24
25
26
32
33
34
35
43
46
48
50
52
This section displays the Megalania's natural colors and regions. For demonstration, the regions below are colored red over an albino Megalania. The colored squares shown underneath each region's description are the colors that the Megalania will randomly spawn with to provide an overall range of its natural color scheme. Hover your cursor over a color to display its name and ID.
This information can be used to alter the Megalania's regions by entering cheat SetTargetDinoColor <ColorRegion> <ColorID> in the cheat console. For instance, cheat SetTargetDinoColor 0 6 would color the Megalania's "main body" magenta.
VR Megalania is the VR variant of Megalania found during some missions in Genesis: Part 2. It is identical to the normal variant in every way except for its digitized appearance. It is not tameable.
Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[2]
Megalania
The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps
Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.
The Megalania alternate between Climbing and walking.
The Megalania only loses Stamina if it moves while climbing.
Passive
Rabies Carrier and Protector
All of the Megalania's attacks apply Mega Rabies disease if the target is a Human, the timer resets with each bite. The Megalania's rider is also immune to this disease.
Unlike the rest of the creatures that only drop their respective Tributes when they die, the Megalania drops 2 Megalania Toxin whenever it dies, becomes unconscious, or hatches from an egg. This mechanic exists in order to make its tribute easy to farm because of its rarity on some maps like The Island.
Taming
For general info about domesticating a wild creature see Taming.
KO Strategy
Found on the ceilings of caves, one must look up in order to find this elusive lizard. The easiest method found so far is to fire from the back of a mount and let it take the beating. While downing the Megalania is relatively easy, keeping it down is a feat. The torpor loss is extremely quick and if one is not careful they'll find their potential tame awake and angry within seconds. It eats kibble every 120 food lost.
Torpidity-depletion: 62.11 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:01:52
Note that the values are for optimal cases, always bring extra supplies!
For a level-dependent count of resources needed, try an external taming calculator.
This section describes how to fight against the Megalania.
General
If you can't see them in a cave, they are likely there but not visible. Terrain on walls and ceilings can completely obscure them. You can force them to come out by making them become aggressive by gaining the rage effect, either by having your survivor eat a rare flower or by using a Pachyrhinosaurus's alternate (default C) rage-evoking attack.
By so doing, you can prevent them from springing upon you when you don't expect it. You can force them down from a better distance and more likely engage the battle on your own terms.
Strategy
Use a grappling hook so the Megalania can't reach you and give you the rabies effect
Weaponry
Avoid close range weapons such as the Pike. Getting too close can make the Megalania give you rabies. Use weapons like the Crossbow, Longneck, or Shotgun.
Dangers
The rabies effect can cause health and stamina to drop very quickly.
Weakness
Like the Thylacoleo, shooting it knocks it down from the ceiling. It spawns on the ceilings of caves like a Thylacoleo spawns on a Redwood forest tree and, like the Thylacoleo, it can't climb back up onto the ceiling. Only tamed Megalania can climb on any surface. Use bear traps as well to slow it down.
Utility
Used to move around easier and make exploring easier
Roles
Climbing walls and ceilings: Megalania has excellent mobility, as it is the one of the only creatures in Ark along with the Rock Drake, and the only creature outside of Aberration that can climb on walls and ceilings, while Thylacoleo can only climb walls vertically, Megalania has the ability to climb them horizontally.
Mass Infector: The attack of a Megalania can infect a survivor with Rabies, a condition that constantly damages both health and stamina over time. In addition, someone with Rabies can spread it to others around them. An afflicted survivor cannot infect another who is riding the Megalania with that spread that strain of Rabies.
Cave Crawler: Its ability to traverse many surfaces makes it an almost ideal option for cave exploration, as you can skip most enemies with ease. Although its sub-par melee damage and slow attack may lead to struggled fights, and its turning radius will be troublesome when dealing with Onyc.
Surface Survivor: Because it is immune to radiation, it can be used as an alternative of the Rock Drake, but it won't be able to detect reapers like the Rock Drake does.
Damage: It does a pretty decent amount of damage if you handle the tame properly and utilize its Mega Rabies debuff carefully.
Ambushing Mount: Due to their ability to cling on walls, and the ability to allow you to use ranged weapons while mounted, they make for very good ambush mounts. The last thing most players will expect is to be sniped by a player clinging to a ceiling. Despite what the dossier says, the Megalania can not, unfortunately for beginners, climb trees, prior to what the dossier says.
Weight: Higher level megalania can easy have over two thousand pounds of weight for carrying resources around base.
Escape Vehicle: Because of their excellent mobility the megalania can be used to climb rocks, walls, trees and other surfaces that other animals can't access. This is a good way to escape dangers that players run into.
Megalania Toxin: Newly tamed and hatched Megalania will have 2 Megalania Toxin in their inventory. Hatching fertilized Megalania Eggs is one way of farming this tribute.
For information pertaining specifically to the real-world Megalania, see the relevant Wikipedia article.
Dino Dossier was revealed on 12/07/15 on Steam.[3]
Megalanias do not take fall damage, see Fall Damage for more info.
The original release of the dossier had diet and temperament switched, resulting in an aggressive diet and a carnivorous temperament. This has since been fixed.[4]
Megalania is actually no longer a valid genus. The real-life animal is currently known as Varanus priscus after it was concluded Megalania is related to modern day monitor lizards, which belong to the genus Varanus. Despite this, the name "Megalania" is still used to describe the animal as a common name.
Using the jump-key (Space, , , ) you can switch between climbing and walking. If you are currently climbing, switching will make you fall off the wall or ceiling.
It appears the Megalania is unable to access the boss arenas much like flyers to avoid the climbing breaking the fights.
Cheat-summoned Megalania will be teleported to nearby cliffs and stop moving. If there is no nearby cliff, it will wander and try to attack preys.
Megalania was the only climbing mount, until the introduction of Aberration, in which Rock Drake is introduced, another mount that can climb ceiling with additional benefits. However, because of the size and the location where you find it, this makes it the only large-sized climbing mount, while Megalania remains the only medium-sized climbing mount with the Thylacoleo.
Although an Aberrant Megalania variant exists in the game files and Devkit, they don't spawn on Aberration due to a design choice.[5]
The Aberrant Megalania later got added to Fjordur however, making it accessible in official settings anyway.
Monitor Lizards like the Megalania, or Varanus priscus, were most likely solitary animals like other monitor species, given that living species only congregate to breed and hunt and feed in unorganized groups; living monitors tend to not stay near one another as this increases the likelihood of competition and even possible cannibalism. Ark's Megalania seems to be a tad different in this regard, as they often spawn in groups of 2 or greater.
Megalania's ability to cause Mega Rabies isn't really accurate, as rabies is only found in mammals. However the Dossier seems to state it is a poison rather then a illness which seems to make more sense, disregarding the fact that this "poison" is contagious. This was probably inspired by the previous assumption about Komodo Dragon's siliva.[6]
Yes
Region 0:
Region 4:
Region 5:
Megatherium, 
Megalosaurus, 
Megaloceros, 
Megalodon, or 
Meganeura
Argentavis
Blood Crystal Wyvern
Forest Wyvern
Griffin
Karkinos
Kaprosuchus
Mammoth
Pteranodon
Quetzal
Tapejara
Tropeognathus
Tusoteuthis
Onyc, 
Dung Beetle, 
Mantis, and 
Aberrant Megalania is the Aberrant variant of Megalania, initialy planned for Aberration, but released with Fjordur. It is identical to the normal species except for its glowing robe. It is tameable and is 
Radiation immune.
Health
Stamina
Oxygen
Food
Weight
Melee Damage
Movement Speed
Torpidity
Rabies Carrier and Protector
Mega Rabies disease if the target is a 
Human, the timer resets with each bite. The Megalania's rider is also immune to this disease.
Megalania Toxin "Producer"
Tributes when they die, the Megalania drops 2 
Megalania Toxin whenever it dies, becomes unconscious, or hatches from an egg. This mechanic exists in order to make its tribute easy to farm because of its rarity on some maps like The Island.
Level 1
Extraordinary Kibble
Raw Mutton
Cooked Lamb Chop
Raw Prime Meat
Cooked Prime Meat
Raw Prime Fish Meat
Raw Meat
Cooked Prime Fish Meat
Cooked Meat
Raw Fish Meat
Cooked Fish Meat
× 70; 
× 29; 
× 8; 
× 5; 
× 4; 
× 2
Extraordinary Kibble:
1 × 
Special Egg, 5 × 
Fiber, 1 × 
Giant Bee Honey, 1 × 
Lazarus Chowder, 10 × 
Mejoberry, 1 × 
Water
Pachyrhinosaurus's alternate (default C) rage-evoking attack.
Rock Drake, and the only creature outside of Aberration that can climb on walls and ceilings, while 
Thylacoleo can only climb walls vertically, Megalania has the ability to climb them horizontally.
Megalania Eggs is one way of farming this tribute.
, 
, 
) you can switch between climbing and walking. If you are currently climbing, switching will make you fall off the wall or ceiling.
ARK: Survival Evolved Changes
Torpor loss by 50%.
ARK: Survival Ascended Changes
