Quarren

• Appeared in:
  
  I
  II
  III
  IV
  V
  VI
  CW

• Homeworld:
  Mon Calamari

• Size:
  1.7 meters

• 

From the Movies

Quarren, or "Squid Heads" as they are sometimes rudely called, are an alien species characterized by the four tentacles that protrude from their jaws. They have deep turquoise eyes, and each hand is capped with finned or suction-cup tipped fingers.

Quarren hail from the planet Mon Calamari, a world they share with the native species that gives the world its name. In the waning days of the Republic, their watery world was represented in the Galactic Senate by Senator Tikkes, whose corruption eventually led him to leave Republic politics for more lucrative ventures. In his stead were such Quarren dignitaries as Tundra Dowmeia, Zil Topur and Nor Wedd.

From the Expanded Universe

The Quarren evolved deep in the murky oceans of Mon Calamari. When they were first discovered by their world-mates the Mon Cals (as they call them), there was some initial confusion. The Quarren weren't as quick to evolve culturally as the Mon Calamari. As the Quarren rose to the surface from their ocean depths and met their cousins, they invariably attacked the Mon Cals. The Calamarians, equipped with better technology and higher intellect, bested the Quarren each time. After years of this, the Quarren were driven to near extinction.

This prompted the Mon Cals to perform a daring and controversial social experiment. The Cals had captured nearly a million Quarren throughout their struggles, yet did not want to free them, for they feared the Quarren would only fight until the Cals were forced to kill them. Instead, the Cals attempted to civilize the Quarren.

The first step was the removal of children from the parents. The Mon Calamari then taught this new generation of Quarren mathematics, philosophy, science and the other foundations of civilization. In 10 years, the Quarren young were released to their parents. As expected, this generation found nothing in common with their fore-bearers. They had learned not to hate their surface-dwelling cousins, but instead respected them. The young saw their parents and ancestors as primitive savages, while the elder generation believed their offspring brainwashed by the Cals. Within 15 years, the young Quarren had assumed control of the populace. Within 20, they had made peaceful contact with the Mon Calamari.

The Quarren preferred the ocean depth as their home, but the two species eventually began working together. The Cals provided greater ideas and new concepts to the Quarren, while the Quarren mined the deep-sea metals to make those ideas into reality. The result was a network of advanced, floating cities on Mon Calamari. The Quarren prefer to live in the dark, deep portions of the cities, while the Cals live closer to the sunlight.

The Quarren and the Mon Cals share the same language, but while the Mon Cals have adopted Basic, the Quarren have remained faithful to their oceanic tongue.

The Quarren are a pragmatic, conservative people compared to the Mon Cal. Whereas the Mon Cals dream of brighter tomorrows, the Quarren never forgot their pasts, and the skirmishes and deception they perceive in the Cals. This has led to friction and outright hostility to the Cals from the Quarren. In fact, it was a Quarren who sabotaged Calamari's protective defense network that allowed the Empire to destroy several Calamari cities early in the Galactic Civil War. When the Empire attempted to subjugate Mon Calamari, many Quarren joined their world-mates to throw off the invasion. Afterwards, however, most Quarren wanted nothing to do with Rebellion. Many fled the world, searching for other ventures and avoiding the Imperial reprisal that was sure to come.

The Battle of Calamari, six years after the Battle of Endor, was the final straw for many Quarren. The Quarren spoke of a mass exodus to another world. Today, many Quarren can be found among pirates, slavers, smugglers and within various spy networks operating throughout the galaxy.

The average Quarren lifespan is 79 standard years. Quarren can descend to depths of 300 meters without breathing or pressure apparatus. When they descend to 50 meters or deeper, they must return to the surface slowly, to allow their bodies to readjust to the lower surface pressure. When coming up to the surface, they must spend as much time decompressing as they spent under 50 meters of water. Quarren have the ability to change the color of their leathery skin, but this is usually only demonstrated during mating rituals.

Behind the Scenes

The Quarren first appeared in Return of the Jedi, then only identified as "Squid Head." The alien was designed in sketches by Chris Walas and Nilo Rodis-Jamero, and realized as a slip-on mask and gloves. Although the novelization of Jedi refers to a "school" of Squid Heads, only one was created for the film.

The Quarren gained its proper alien name in 1987's Star Wars Sourcebook, which established Mon Calamari as the Quarren homeworld. This information was used in production materials for both Episode I and II.