dactillion

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Utapau

• Size:
  6 meters tall; 24-meter wingspan

• Diet:
  Carnivore

• 

From the Movies

The dactillion is a species of carnivorous reptile native to Utapau. The winged four-legged lizard is capable of flight, and the native Utapauns have domesticated the dactillion for use as a mount.

From the Expanded Universe

Dactillions are an ancient species, having plagued the Utapauns as predators in that people's prehistoric climb to civilization.

The winged reptavians are solitary and nomadic. Within a sinkhole, a dactillion could use its limbs to climb along the cliff faces, and use its wings to ride the rising thermals. It would hunt within a sinkhole, feeding on grotto fish, small prey or carrion. When food grew scarce or it was time to seek a mate, the dactillion would fly out to the surface, riding the fierce winds that scoured the featureless plains.

It was by studying dactillion migration patterns that the Utapauns were able to better understand the complex weather of their world. The dactillions would leave the sinkholes and fly over the open surface when the winds were at their tamest. It was then that the Utapauns, too, could venture to the surface, to install their mills and other instruments that harnessed the abundant wind power the planet offered.

Though the cliff-scrabbling varactyls were the first to be domesticated by the developing Utapauns, varactyls soon followed. By supplying the winged lizards with fresh meat, the Utapauns were able to secure loyal mounts that let them explore the world beyond their sinkholes.

Behind the Scenes

The dactillions were first envisioned as a Jedi mount on the world of Utapau. As the Episode III story was still developing, the concept model of the dactillion had Ki-Adi-Mundi riding the beast, even though he was not to feature on the planet.