The Completely Unofficial Star Wars Encyclopedia

Dianoga

Category: Creatures
Type: Mollusks and Gastropods
Planet of Origin: Vodran

This unusual, amphibious mollusk was found throughout the galaxy, living wherever there was sewage for it to subside on. It had seven tentacles and a single eyestalk arranged around its body, and a beaked mouth dominated its underside. The interior of the creature's body was essentially a huge stomach and digestive system.

The origins of the dianoga were eventually traced back to the planet Vodran, a swampy world where the dianoga was forced to develop a tranparent camouflage in order to escape from the planet's larger predators.

Also called a garbage squid, the dianoga managed to migrate off the planet by following the scent of garbage to spaceports and crawling into starships, effectively "stowing away." The average dianoga specimen could grow to be five to six meters in length, although specimens of ten meters were not unheard of. Their bodies, when unfed, become transparent, and an individual could change the coloration of their body to reflect the colors of their food once they have eaten.

The tentacles of a dianoga could be regenerated if lost, which occurred quite often when a dianoga was hunting for its prey. For this reason, many dianogas chose to scavenge for food, rather than risk injury, especially those ship-bound individuals that wanted to avoid detection.

As a species, dianogas were hermaphroditic, and were capable of fertilizing their own egg cells. Each new generation formed a new colony, which moved to an uninhabited location to make its home.

Source Abbreviations Listing - E4, MTS, WSW, NEGA

For more information, please read or view the following material(s):

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, by George Lucas, copyright 1977, from Twentieth-Century Fox Film Distribution

Star Wars: The New Essential Guide to Alien Species, by Ann Margaret Lewis and Helen Keier, copyright 2006, from Del Rey Books

The Movie Trilogy Sourcebook, by Greg Farshtey and Bill Smith (Eds.), copyright 1993, from West End Games

The Wildlife of Star Wars, by Terryl Whitlatch and Bob Carrau, copyright 2001, from Chronicle Books

Legend:

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