The sarlacc was a long-lived, omnivorous beast found on several planets across the galaxy.

Lifespan

The lifespan of a sarlacc has been estimated to measure 20,000 to 25,000 years or more. Younger members of the species could move under the sands rapidly, and catch their prey much faster, while older ones remained immobile. Females generally grew much larger than males.

The largest known specimen of the species resided in the Great Pit of Carkoon beneath the sands of the Dune Sea on the remote planet of Tatooine, although most sarlaccs prefered damp environments. Xenobiologists were unsure as to whether the sarlacc was animal or plant, as it possessed the characteristics of both kingdoms, but most scientists preferred the theory that the sarlacc is a giant plant organism.

Digestive system

Only the sarlacc's gaping maw could be seen from the surface. It lay in wait for any living creature to stumble into its maw, or pulled nearby victims in with one of many tentacles. A sarlacc's mouth was surrounded by rows of retractable razor-sharp teeth, used to chew victims during adolescence, before the digestive system is fully formed. Adult sarlaccs developed a beaked, snake-like tongue, at the center of the fearsome pit, which doubled as a mouth.

After being swallowed by the tongue, the victim made their way into the sarlacc's stomach to be digested, purportedly being slowly digested for a millennium. A strong network of vessels inside the stomach puncture the victim's skin and muscles and then embedded themselves into a victim before injecting neurotoxins into them, preventing the victims from escaping and ensuring that they remained immersed in the acidic fluids in the stomach.

The vessels also provided victims with nutrients to keep them alive while they were digested in agony; when a victim was in the stomach for a long time period, the sarlacc actually embeds the victims in the lining of the stomach to make room for other victims it swallows, and to make the stomach stronger so other victims can't escape.

A number of smaller, secondary stomachs were used to store victims for later consumption at times when the sarlacc needed larger amounts of nutrients, such as when it needed to grow, breed, or strengthen its tentacles and beak for catching stronger, larger prey. The secondary stomachs also functioned to store victims when the main stomach runs out of room, although this was rare. The acidic fluids in the stomachs are composed of powerful chemicals that take much longer to digest prey than acids in the stomach of other creatures, they specifically target skin and muscle tissue, because that is where the nutrients in the victims are. The acids in the secondary stomachs take longer to digest their prey than the acids in the main stomach, they can keep their prey alive for longer than a thousand years to use nutrients when they need to, and to have a "storehouse" for nutrients if they can't capture prey for a long time period. They are also lined with more vessels, and are smaller and more cramped to encase the victims in so the sarlacc doesn't have to deal with the victim trying to escape its hold, they can also more easily expand to store larger amounts of victims, making them versatile and not prone to damage.

Mating and spawning

A Tusken Raider legend told of how the sarlacc gave birth to itself in Tatooine's core in the days before the twin suns split apart from a single star. According to this legend, it would continue to eat everything it came in contact with until eventually it was forced to consume itself. Though this was not a true account of the sarlacc's origin, the Tuskens themselves refused to accept any other explanation.

When a male sarlacc made contact with a female, the male attached himself to her, becoming a parasite, the male then injected sperm into the spore production sac. They then reproduced by releasing the spores, which could leave the atmosphere and travel long distances through the Galaxy to other planets. Because of this fantastic ability to propogate, the species' point of origin was never accurately determined. Once the spore settled down, it attached itself to an organism and sucked blood from it to feed itself.

As the sarlacc "baby" grew into a larva, it would eventually challenge larger creatures. If the other creature happened to eat the sarlacc larva, it would be killed and eaten from the inside by the larva.

After finishing its meal, the larva would dig itself into a pit, growing roots to anchor itself in the ground while it grew into a full sized sarlacc. The roots also functioned to absorb nutrients from the ground if the sarlacc couldn't get enough from its victims.

Semi-sentience

Jabba the Hutt sentenced Luke Skywalker and his companions to "death by sarlacc" in 4 ABY. Prior to his execution, however, Skywalker was able to retrieve his lightsaber from the astromech droid R2-D2 and free his companions. In addition to numerous other casualties during the ensuing battle, Han Solo obliviously knocked notorious bounty hunter Boba Fett into the pit with a force pike. Originally presumed dead, Fett remained alive, using his jetpack some while later and becoming the first of only two beings ever known to escape from a sarlacc's belly alive (Zorba Desilijic Tiure the other). Despite the beast's reputation, it was not surprising considering Fett's Mandalorian armor, tenacity, and strong will to live.

While studying a holographic recording recovered from Fett's helmet camera, Senior Anthropologist Mammon Hoole discovered an unsettling revelation: the beast apparently possessed the ability to telepathically torture its prey. In this recording, Fett appeared to be reacting to stimuli that didn't exist, suggesting that sarlacc were capable not only of communication, but apparently of malevolence, feeding off of the fears of their prisoners. This led Hoole to classify the sarlacc as a semi-sentient creature. It was also believed that the consciousnesses' of the sarlacc's victims join to create a huge network of awareness. The victims were able to communicate with one another through this ghoulish network. As the sarlacc absorbed the thoughts of its victims, it would become more and more intelligent, to the point where a sarlacc could almost predict what its victims would do in its stomachs to try and escape, or when it is hunting its prey.

Having long admired the patience of the sarlacc, the Jedi Order named a form of lightsaber combat, Shii-Cho, after the beast.

Anatomy

The Sarlacc's body didn't have a skeletal structure or a solid framework, but it did possess a strong muscular body with large roots and a series of nerve endings on its skin. A little-known fact about the sarlacc is that its brain was located in a large sac enclosed inside of the body, with several attachments to the stomachs, so it could easily absorb the thoughts of its victims quickly.

The sarlacc also had roots on the outside of its body to leech the nutrients from the ground and to sense the vibrations from creatures on the desert sands. The sarlacc lacked eyes and ears, instead relying on the sensors in its roots to "see" its prey. The sarlacc's mouth had large mucous-coated teeth and strong tentacles for catching prey; the inward-pointed teeth functioned to keep victims in its mouth, whereas the tentacles grabbed prey and pulled them into the maw.

The sarlacc had a large beak which emerged from the throat. The "beak" in reality was the sarlacc's tongue, and the tongue within the tongue was actually yet another stubby tentacle that aided in swallowing. The sarlacc's throat had many veins and vessels which acted as sensors to determine the size, weight, and strength of the victim, allowing the sarlacc to decide which stomach to put its prey into: stronger prey were put into the secondary stomachs, while smaller prey went into the main stomach.

The sarlacc's throat also possessed many microscopic openings that acted as moisterizers, to keep the throat healthy—the sand and gravel that dropped into the mouth could hurt the lining of the throat. The more the sarlacc ate the more the stomachs run out of room, and, in rare cases, it used a small number of its victims to grow the stomachs by actually enmeshing those few victims into the stomachs. After a victim was digested, the remains of the dead victim were dispersed out small openings on the underside of the body. The sarlacc also had small air holes around its mouth for breathing; its lungs were located near the aforementioned brain sac, allowing oxygen to reach the brain and blood quickly.

The sarlacc's roots functioned as tentacles during adolescence, then grew into full immovable stalks during adulthood. They also absorbed tiny fungal lifeforms, bugs and microscopic cells and bacteria into the body from the ground for nutrients. The sarlacc's body can absorb liquid molecules through small openings in the roots, keeping its water level up.

Known Sarlacc Victims

• Barada
• Boba Fett (survived)
• Kithaba
• Mica
• P'tan
• Taym Dren-Garen
• Vedain
• Velken Tezeri
• Yotts Orren
• Zorba Desilijic Tiure (survived)

Behind the scenes

There are several different depictions of the sarlacc's body that contradict one another. The Wildlife of Star Wars, for example, includes a sketch of a very plant-like sarlacc. It has root-like limbs to anchor itself and collect water. It also has many chambers to store and digest food. Most other depictions are of a worm-like creature.

Appearances

• Star Wars: Episode I Racer
• Star Wars: Bounty Hunter
• Star Wars: Racer Revenge (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: The New Droid Army
• Star Wars Republic 59: Enemy Lines
• The Cestus Deception (Mentioned only)
• Ghost
• Smuggler's Blues (Mentioned only)
• Fred Jawa (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: Battlefront
• Star Wars: Empire at War
• Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
• Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
• Nerf Herder
• Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc
• Tales From Jabba's Palace
• The Revenge of Tag and Bink (Non-canonical appearance)
• The Mandalorian Armor
• Super Star Wars
• Star Wars: Demolition
• Shadows of the Empire video game
• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Non-canonical appearance)
• Super Return of the Jedi
• The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
• Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
• Force Heretic III: Reunion (Mentioned only)
• The Lost Lightsaber (Appears in flashback(s))
• Star Wars Legacy: Broken (Mentioned only)

See Also

• Parasite

Sources

• The Essential Guide to Alien Species
• The Wildlife of Star Wars: A Field Guide
• Fortune, Fate, and the Natural History of the Sarlacc
• A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett
• The Official Star Wars Fact File Issue 35
•  Sarlacc in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link on Archive.org)