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- "These six-legged insects chew through Mustafar's crust, forming the cave complexes where Mustafarians live. Mustafarians use them as mounts and forge heat-resistance armor from their exoskeletons. Lava fleas are nimble and can leap 30 meters to escape gouts of upwelling lava."
- ―The Galactic Explorer's Guide
Lava fleas were a species of six-legged insect native to the volcanic planet Mustafar. They had eyes that distinguish between light and darkness as well as powerful legs for jumping. They were well adapted to life on the world's fiery surface due to their tough shock-resistant exoskeletons,[5] and ate through the planet's crust, forming a variety of underground caves which the native sentient Mustafarian species would inhabit.[1] Due to the unforgiving nature of Mustafar, the Mustafarians had to make the most of the hardy native creatures and tamed lava fleas to use as mounts.[6] Visitors to the world from other species also used the fleas for transport.[1]
Behind the scenes
Lava fleas first appeared in the 2005 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.[3] They were designed by South Korean artist Sang Jun Lee. Although initially referred to as "Jun bugs" in production, they eventually became the lava flea.[7]
Appearances
- Dark Disciple (and audiobook)
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (First appearance)
- Darth Vader (2017) 21
- Darth Vader (2017) 22
- Darth Vader (2017) 23
- Darth Vader (2017) 24
- Darth Vader (2017) 25 (Appears as a corpse)
- Star Wars Adventures: Tales from Vader's Castle 5 (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars Adventures: Return to Vader's Castle 5 (In flashback(s))
- Darth Vader (2020) 8
- Star Wars Adventures: Shadow of Vader's Castle
Non-canon appearances
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
LEGO STAR WARS: Celebrate the Season — "The Sith Witch of Mustafar"
Sources
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 33 Guide to the Galaxy: Wildlife of Mustafar
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know (First identified as lava flea)
- Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- Star Wars: Complete Locations
- Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition
- Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 95 Building the Galaxy: Creature Design
- Star Wars By the Numbers: Every Creature in the Star Wars Movies on the official Star Wars Kids YouTube channel (original link is obsolete)
- Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition
- Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide
- Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
Non-canon sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 33 Guide to the Galaxy: Wildlife of Mustafar
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide
- ↑ Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded
- ↑ Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- ↑ Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 95 Building the Galaxy: Creature Design