Urusai

Urusai were four-winged reptavians native to the desert planet Tatooine. They ate sarlaccs that were in the spore stage of their life cycle, but shared a symbiotic relationship with adult sarlaccs, picking their teeth and tentacles clean.

Biology and appearance

Urusai were a type of reptavian native to the desert planet Tatooine^[1] in the Arkanis sector of the Outer Rim Territories.^[3] They were blue and yellow in color and possessed four wings.^[1]

Behavior

Urusai shared a symbiotic relationship with the sarlacc species, although they ate paired sets of sarlaccs in the spore stage of their life cycle as they emerged from the desert sands. Those sarlaccs that did reach adulthood and bury themselves in the sand then benefited from bold urusai—now tiny in size relative to the adult sarlaccs—that kept a sarlacc's teeth and tentacles clean in exchange for food. The sarlaccs relied on this act, as it rid their bodies of bacteria before disease could take root. In return, it provided a much-needed food source for the urusai, who would have otherwise struggled to survive in Tatooine's barren deserts.^[1]

History

Galactic Society of Creature Enthusiasts Director of Creature Cartography Ardis San Tekka mentioned urusai when writing about sarlaccs in her journal^[1] at some point after the Battle of Exegol in 35 ABY.^[4] In the journal's conclusion, she stated that everyone should emulate examples of symbiosis like the relationship between urusai and sarlaccs.^[1]

Behind the scenes

In the current Star Wars canon, urusai first appeared in the 2015 Rise Against the Empire Play Set of the non-canon video game Disney Infinity 3.0, in which they could be purchased for 250 Sparks. In the game, the creatures were depicted as winged bipeds with primarily yellow skin bar their backs and the tops of their heads, which were blue. Both of their two legs had three claws, and their wings also had three clawed fingers. The urusais' heads included a slightly hooked beak, a pair of red eyes, and a pointed crest at the rear of the skull.^[2] The creatures were then mentioned in the 2024 canonical reference book Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy, which was written by S.T. Bende.^[1]

Urusai were originally designed by concept artist Terryl Whitlatch for the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace,^[5] which was released on May 19, 1999,^[6] though they did not appear in the final version of the film.^[7] Simply named "vultures" during production, Whitlatch made them as part of a detailed ecology for Tatooine and designed the urusai's head, specifically its striking eye color, to act as the visual focus of its design.^[5] Urusai appeared in the Star Wars Legends continuity for the first time in the LucasArts video game Star Wars Episode I: The Gungan Frontier,^[8] which was released on May 18, 1999.^[9]

Concept art galleries

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace

Storyboards

Concept art

Digital renderings

In-progress artwork

Concept art

Vultures, Terryl Whitlatch^[5]

Appearances

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Non-canon appearances

• Disney Infinity 3.0 (First appearance)

Sources

• The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (Behind the scenes information only)
• Star Wars Bestiary, Vol. 1: Creatures of the Galaxy (First canonically mentioned)

Notes and references