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Fauna
Orray
Hardy pack animals used by the insectoid Geonosians,
orrays are 3-meter-long, 1.52-meter-high, leathery-skinned quadrupeds with great
strength and a quick gait. They are used to haul heavy loads, and as
mounts for the picadors found in the Geonosis execution arena.
Before their domestication by the Geonosians, orrays would
use their long snouts to root into the sensitive egg chambers of a new Geonosian
hive, devouring thousands of larvae in a single meal. In the wild, orrays have
tail stingers for defense, but domesticated orrays have these weapons amputated,
which makes them more docile.
Massiff
Massiffs are burly
quadruped carnivores, standing about a meter tall at the shoulder. They have
coarse skin, large jaws, toothy mouths, big dark eyes, and a line of hard spines
along their backs. Massiffs arrived on Tatooine when a freighter bearing Geonosian massiffs crashed. On Geonosis, massiffs are emblems of the Geonosian aristocracy, and
domesticated massiffs are used to rid the hives of vermin. On occasion, massiffs
are used in arena fighting. Geonosian massiffs are larger and more fierce than their stunted Tatooine descendants.
Acklay
The acklay originally hails from the lushly fertile planet of
Vendaxa, a world with a dense ecosystem that has produced predators of
nightmarish proportions. Acklays are 3.05-meter-tall diurnal creatures that hunt
for drowsy nocturnal lemnai and spear them with their immense claws. When
offworld interests began coming to Geonosis for droid and technology contracts,
they would occasionally pay the Archduke with exotic beasts to fill the
Geonosian execution arena. The acklay was a prized specimen delivered decades
ago, and the Geonosians took to breeding them for arena entertainment. Escaped
acklays have resulted in the deaths of entire hives, and the spiny creatures
quickly carved themselves a niche in the brutal Geonosian ecology.
The acklay is well equipped for survival in the harshest of environs. Its long postcranial frill not only serves as a display of aggression, but also protects the sensitive neck area from attacks. While the acklay itself lacks armor, its limbs are long enough that it can swipe from a safe distance. The acklay's foreward slashing claws are actually hyperatrophied fingertips sheathed in hardened skin incapable of feeling pain. When attacking, an acklay tries to disable its prey with its claws. Once the prey can no longer fight back, the acklay uses its jaws to carry the creature away for a leisurely meal. Acklays dominate the territory surrounding the Ebon sea, a stagnant, scum-covered lake which is one of the few permament bodies of water on Geonosis.
The chemical poisons of the Golbah pit have created a mutant variety of acklay, easily identified by its glossy black shell. A mutant acklay can take more punishment than its cousin, has heavier claws, and has gained the ability to hunt in the dark waters of the ebon sea.
Roga
Rogas are deadly, six-legged predators native to Geonosis. The insectile roga moved about on its spindly, hose-like legs, and was attracted to sources of heat. Its mouth was surrounded by grasping mandibles, and a pair of feathery antennae sprouted from its head. Though they pose little threat to Geonosians in comparison with the threats of larger predators such as acklays and merdeths, roga-related deaths are not uncommon. Travelers from off-world, thinking it safest to travel through rocky ridges and canyons, often find themselves facing the mandibles and dagger-like proboscis of a hungry roga.
Merdeth [No Picture Available]
The awe-inspiring merdeth is the only creature on Geonosis that eats acklays for lunch. Bigger than a star freighter, a merdeth could be mistaken at a distance for a smooth red boulder. Around the perimeter of this gigantic shell are hundreds of scuttling legs and a mass of barbed tentacles protruding from the creature's armored, triangular head. Small flying parasites known as mips suck ichor from the underside of a merdeth's body, but assist their host by scouting out food sources and attacking enemies. Merdeths are slow but nearly unstoppable. They consume whatever organic materials they come across. Since most animals can outrun merdeths, the beasts often attack immobile "nests," such as Geonosian hives, acklay dens, and even parked starships, where they can corner their prey and feed on helpless young.
Mip [No Picture Available]
Mips are tiny flying parasites that latch onto merdeths. A mip is worm-like in appearance, but with insectile wings, two sets of eyes, stubby legs for clinging to the underside of a merdeth, and a mouth lined a razor-sharp teeth. The sight of an advancing merdeth and its attendant mips has been compared by terrified survivors to a starfighter carrier launching a squadron of interceptors. Mip swarms disperse if their host merdeth is killed. Mips are never encountered away from merdeths.
Hydra [No Picture Available]
The Geonosian hydra is one of the few species on Geonosis that requires a permanent body of water to survive. Its larval form, the hydra worm, is entirely aquatic. A number of massive hydra worms inhabit the muddy bottom of the Ebon Sea. A complete hydra worm skeleton is located in the educational annex of the Royal Icqui Aquaria on Coruscant. After an unknown number of years as a hydra worm, the creature metamorphoises into the frightening land predator known as the Geonosian hydra dragon. Legends of great, multi-headed dragons exist in many systems, but very few have ever encountered such monsters. On the barrren world of Geonosis, however, such creatures do exist. Geonosian hydras move across the deserts of Geonosis in search of food, using their powerful legs and many heads to climb to the top of the mesas and buttes that dot the landscape in order to gain access to hives of Geonosians, their favorite food. Mature Geonosian hydras more resemble Geonosians than they do scaly, lizard-like dragons. A Geonosian hydra's insectoid body is long and flat, with three or more mantislike heads protruding from one end of its chitinous thorax. It scuttles along on six legs that have razor edged tips, which it uses to spear its food and climb the rocky slopes and ledges of its homeworld. Its body is protected by a hard exoskeleton, and it has two wings that allow it to make long jumps, although it cannot fly in the traditional sense. Its long necks allow it to stick a head into a Geonosian hive and extract a meal while watching for attacks in multiple directions. Geonosian hydras are uncommon, especially near Geonosian settlements and droid factories, where the Geonosians have taken the time to hunt them down and exterminate them due to the dangers they pose. The fighting pits of Geonosis see more than a few of these creatures each cycle, often pitted against large teams of gladiators or in the droid demolition derbies that make sport out of malfunctioning products. Geonosian hydras have also been captured and exported to several nearby systems, including Tatooine, where the Hutts put them in dungeons to dispose of their enemies in a sporting manner.
Ur-greedle [No Picture Available]
Ur-greedles are close evolutionary cousins to Geonosians, but remain more closely tied to the insectoid forbears from which both species sprang. An ur-greedle resembles a shorter Geonosian (1.5 meters on average) with a hard crimson exoskeleton, three-taloned claws used for digging, and six rapidly buzzing wings. They inhabit dirt mounds that, from the outside, look almost identical to Geonosian spire-hives, though much smaller. They are notorious for stealing shiny objects; after the Battle of Geonosis, ur-greedles made off with dozens of Jedi lightsabers before the Republic troops could clear the dead from the battlefield.
Phidna[No Picture Available]
Geonosians have learned to create rock paste by raising farms of parasitic insects called phidnas in controlled hydroponic gardens. Geonosian worker drones then used phidna rock paste (phidna excretions mixed with stone powder) to construct soaring spires with the organic look of melted bone.
Arch Grub[No Picture Available]
A popular delicacy on Geonosis, archgrubs are best served lightly grilled. The large burrowing insects are both raised domestically by farmer drones, and gathered in the wild, where they are often found clustered in the cool shadowy underside of natural stone arches.
Mongworst[No Picture Available]
This deadly insect is native to Geonosis. The Geonosians breed a mutated form of mongworst for use in their combat arenas.
Porlceetin[No Picture Available]
A feared predator, these large, venomous, six-legged creatures are easily distinguished by their green and orange coloration.
Sand Snake[No Picture Available]
This furred, venemous snake hides under the sands of the Geonosian desert to escape the heat and hide from predators and potential prey.
Spider-sponge[No Picture Available]
Native to the deep layers of dirt and rock found on Geonosis, this species of mobile sponge spends its entire life on land, consuming toxic materials in the planet's crust. When the Geonosians began producing droids in immense factories, spider-sponges proliferated in the neighboring rock and caves, feeding on the toxic wastes produced by the fatories.
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