Onyx Cerambus

Onyx Cerambus is a Subspecies of Cerambus appearing in Monster Hunter Venture.

Physiology
As the subspecies of Cerambus, Onyx Cerambus resembles its Thunder-wielding relative greatly. The key difference is that whatever is blue on Cerambus is a dull brick-red on Onyx Cerambus, and instead of quills it posseses coal-black spiky ostoderms. Further differences can be seen on its head, as its horns curve backward and up rather than forward and down. Its nasal ridge is larger and spikier. The same coal-black material of its ostoderms can be seen covering its head, and this is what gives it its name of Onyx Cerambus. Onyx Cerambus also has a thagomizer at the end of its tail rather than a cluster of quills.

Abilities
Onyx Cerambus wields the same combination of aggression and speed of its relative Cerambus, although it lacks the electricity-storing abilities of the latter. In place of this, it has even greater strength, and it uses this along with its curled horns to lift and throw explosive boulders. Onyx Cerambus can also breathe short-ranged blasts of fire from its nostrils and create waves of heat with its stomps.

Attacks
Onyx Cerambus has all the non-elemental attacks of a regular Cerambus. These attacks are unique to it.

High Rank and onward
Boulder Toss: Onyx Cerambus uses its horns to rip a boulder from the ground, then tosses it at a threat. This boulder can Stun hunters if it hits them in the head.

Burning Huff: It snorts out a small puff of smoke from its nostrils that causes Fireblight.

Body Slam: Onyx Cerambus raises itself higher by straightening its legs, then slams its stomach down onto smaller threats below it.

Triple Stomp: Onyx Cerambus stomps once with each foreleg, then performs is Stompquake attack.

Torch Breath: The monster breathes out a short-ranged cone of fire that causes Fireblight to hunters it hits. This attack is swept from side to side.

Flamespear: The monster scrapes one of its horns against the ground until it turns a light orange, then stabs it forward. This attack causes Fireblight and does heavy damage, but has a high windup time.

Snapping Beak: A simple attack where it snaps to its side to intercept an attacking threat.

Enraged Only
Horn Ignition: Used upon entering Rage Mode. Onyx Cerambus scrapes its brow horns against the ground until they glow red-hot, then roars. While it is in Rage Mode, all its horn attacks will cause Fireblight and Flamespear's windup time is greatly lowered.

Raging Uppercut: The monster jerks its head upward to send a short wave of fire forward. Causes Fireblight.

Boulder Blast: Onyx Cerambys sticks its horns into the ground to pull out a large explosive boulder, then tosses it away. It explodes upon impact with a threat or the ground, and when it denotates it scatters explosive dust that can cause Blastblight.

Molten Stompquake: It rears up and stomps the ground with its forelegs, sending a burst of fire forward. This attack causes Fireblight.

G-Rank exclusive
Heat Pulse: The monster tenses its body as its ostoderms begin to glow orange, then releases a circular wave of fire from its body. Causes Fireblight.

Charging Dozer: Onyx Cerambus places its horns into the ground and starts charging slowly, but rapidly picks up speed. Just like the Bull Charge it can send Hunters flying and cause Stun once they land, but it will also throw rocks around which can cause Earthblight if they hit. After this attack it will taunt.

Enraged Only
Volcanic Crash: It rears up on its hind legs and remains in this position for some time before crashing down heavily, sending out a large wave of lava in front of it. This attack causes Fireblight.

Burning Dozer: Onyx Cerambus places its horns into the ground and dashes forward, scattering explosive boulders by its sides and sending a wave of fire in front of it. Upon exploding, the explosive boulders release dust that causes Blastblight, and the wave of fire causes Fireblight.

Magma Mortar: It inhales deeply as if about to perform Torch Breath, but instead continues to inhale until its mouth begins to glow from intense heat. It then releases all of this heat in a mortar-like blast of magma similar to Glavenus's Lava Shot, although it is much larger. This blast explodes upon contact with the ground, causing Fireblight and Blastblight.

Taxonomy

 * Order: Ornithoscelida
 * Suborder: Marginocephalia
 * Infraorder: Heavy Horn
 * Family: Cerambus

Habitat Range
Onyx Cerambys lives in Genoia's hot and arid regions, such as the Blasted Desert, Redrock Canyon, and Volcanic Coast. Herds of them are also known to congregate around Mount Calamity for unknown reasons.

Ecological Niche
Onyx Cerambus have very different diets from their regular counterparts. Due to the rarity of plants in their volcanic and desert environments, they are known to consume much greater percentages of rock and ore than ordinary Cerambus. They have also been observed to be omnivorous, although they do not go after larger prey and instead primarily eat Carapaceons, Neopterons, and the carcasses of small Scelidians such as Apceros and Rhenoplos. Fully grown Onyx Cerambus do not have any major predators in the arid and volcanic areas they inhabit due to being too large for apex predators like Agnaktor and Brachydios to bring down without high risk of injury, although they are occasionally attacked by Elder Dragons like Teostra and Lunastra and the colossal Flying Wyvern Akantor. Despite not having any major predators, Onyx Cerambus competes with several large and powerful monsters such as Brachydios, Uragaan, and Diablos, and so has several defensive adaptations.

Biological Adaptations
Due to consuming higher quantities of ore, the facial shield of Onyx Cerambus is even thicker and more durable than that of regular Cerambus. This gives it additional protection not only from other monsters, but also from sand, ashes, and heat. Its horns are curled backwards rather than forwards, which would seemingly make them more difficult to attack with. However, Onyx Cerambus uses its horns for considerably different purposes: these monsters thrust upward with their horns when they attack, and also use their hooked shape to rip boulders from the ground, which they then throw by using their powerful shoulders. The unique shape of their horns also aids in scraping them against the ground to ignite them, as all of its coal-black plating is highly flammable.

Behavior
Onyx Cerambus is highly aggressive and territorial, even more so than its relative. Preferring to be left in complete solitude, this monster makes territories around food sources and chases down intruders with extreme prejudice. Unlike Cerambus, it does not enjoy being around smaller monsters and will attack them if they come too close. One trait it retains from its relative is its defense of its young, however, as it will protect them with its life against far larger monsters.

Trivia

 * Onyx Cerambus's curled horns were based on the ceratopsian Diabloceratops. Its fiery abilities came from the devil's association with fire.
 * Before Onyx Cerambus was conceptualized, Cerambus originally had a tundra-dwelling subspecies known as Avalanche Cerambus.
 * Candidates for its name included "Obsidian Cerambus", "Black Cerambus", and "Igneous Cerambus". Onyx was chosen for its evocativity and for a volcanic theme, while also avoiding similarity with Brachydios (whose name is derived from obsidian) and Dinoman0310's upcoming Zamtrios Rare Species Igneous Zamtrios.