#armadigger

This is chozosancstatuel2, a statue that appears frequently in Ferenia. I made a post speculating about the iconography last year, but I have images on my drive that never got used there. While I'm providing references, I might as well drop the full turnaround.

In the previous post, I posited that these statues are intended to represent armadiggers guarding the entrances or exits to sacred sites. Armadiggers also appear on the texture for the orrery in Elun.

Here's the full texture.

It just occurred to me that these guardian statues might be Armadiggers.

Two sets of eyes on either side of its face

Quadrupedal

Paws with sharp claws

Large fangs

The curved, ridged horns on either side of its face

A short, stumpy tail

The flat nose

Now I might be wrong, but they look like stylized armadiggers. The beast appears to be armored, and it's poised much like statues of animals from real-world cultures that are positioned outside of (mostly important) locations as guardians of sorts.

Its name was revealed in an official capacity in this article (ARCHIVED LINK: post updated July 13, 2023. The Metroid Dread official website appears to have been taken offline), but that's not why I've brought you here. I've come to make another model reference post. Select the individual images to get a closer look at them.

The humble armadigger is a quadrupedal four-eyed creature with brown fur.

Of the Armadigger, the official Metroid Dread website has this to say:

Armadigger A violent, four-footed creature native to ZDR. Charges at Samus with great speed when she’s detected and will quickly change its direction and try again if she evades the attack. Fight back with a Melee Counter or attack it from outside its charging path.

Source: Metroid Dread Report vol. 8: Surveying planet ZDR

It appears to possess a shell of some sort in the darker slabs on its back, but those could be large tufts of fur. Perhaps it's a thicker, furry, armored hide? Each leg has three toes, all of which have claws. It has a stubby tail and curved black horns on either side of its face. A bit is clamped between its teeth, holding some sort of muzzle or a bit of equipment in place, and it wears a metal collar.

Something to note is that these creatures are depicted alongside Chozo warriors on a mural in Elun's orrery. It seems to me that the Mawkin used armadiggers as war hounds.

You may have noticed a few details in the last image. Namely, the armadigger's nipples. They're mammals! They also have cute little paw pads on the bottom of their feet.

You may have also noticed another detail. If you've ever owned a dog, and he's asked for belly rubs, you'll be familiar with the concept. Yes, this is from unmodded, vanilla Dread. No, it has no animations assigned to it. It doesn't even have any bones. Will you see it during normal gameplay? No, you'll never even notice it.