Frog - dog / Legends Frog - dogs were a species of sentient reptiles with both frog - like and dog - like features . Each member of the species had a large cranium that sported two large , protruding eyes and long , pointed teeth that stuck out from the mouth . Two squat limbs with five - fingered hands supported the body , although a frog - dog at rest kept his or her large , bulbous mid - section on the ground as well . The body tapered to a long , thin tail . Frog - dogs caught insects and other prey with a long , sticky tongue that darted from the mouth and retrieved the desired meal . The creatures hopped and waddled from place to place . Frog - dog vocalizations sounded like throaty barks and croaks . Although they were both sentient and highly intelligent , frog - dogs were often mistaken for simple animals . They did nothing to change this misconception and sometimes even used it to their advantage . A frog - dog might deign to live as the pet of another sentient being , for example , trading a life of denigration for a guaranteed source of food . Others worked as assassins and spies , using their unassuming appearance to get into position to complete a particular mission . The frog - dog Buboicullaar operated in this manner as a " pet " of both a tribe of Jawas on the planet Tatooine and of Jabba Desilijic Tiure in the crime lord ' s palace . While a member of Jabba ' s court , Buboicullaar plotted to kill his Hutt master . Meanwhile , he foiled a similar assassination scheme by the Gran Ree - Yees . Upon Jabba ' s death at the Great Pit of Carkoon , Buboicullaar joined the B ' omarr Order . Biology and appearance . Frog - dogs were sentient reptiles with features of both frogs and dogs . They had two limbs that featured five - fingered hands with craggy gray nails . Nevertheless , the shortness and splayed arrangement of these appendages kept the frog - dog body low to the ground , making each member of the species rest on his or her protuberant belly when at rest . In this position , most frog - dogs stood a mere 0 . 5 meters tall , at which height a mass of 35 kilograms was normal — although at least one specimen on Tatooine grew to at least four times that size . The body tapered to a long , thin tail toward the species ' dorsal regions . Rows of bony lumps ran along the back and down the length of the tail . Frog - dogs were covered in warty hides whose pigmentation varied from individual to individual : possible colorations included brown , green , orange - red , purple , and yellowish dun , although boils , warts , and mottling of another color could appear as well . Frog - dog skin hung loosely on the frame ; coupled with their large warts , this created folds so deep that small objects could be hidden inside the flaps . A huge cranium dominated the forequarters of a frog - dog ' s body . Two bulbous , heavy - lidded , frog - like eyes protruded from the top of the visage , their coloration varying from one frog - dog to the next . Possible hues included purple , red , and yellow . Frog - dogs had excellent vision , and they could focus their eyes independently . A wide maw full of row upon row of yellowed , needle - sharp teeth constituted the species ' only other major facial feature . The lower jaw jutted out so as to allow these teeth to protrude even when the mouth was shut . The teeth betrayed the frog - dogs ' carnivorous diet . Members of the species ate animals of many kinds , although insects formed the main part of their nutrition . A frog - dog fed him - or herself by flicking out the long , prehensile tongue at a target . A sticky fluid allowed the tongue ' s bulbous tip to adhere to what it touched , so with a quick retraction , a frog - dog ' s surprised prey could find itself snapped up and in the frog - dog ' s mouth instantaneously . Frog - dogs in captivity ate nearly anything , including moldy bantha fat , gelatinous chuff , and pieces of Viridian termite jaws . Overall , the frog - dogs ' appearance made members of other sentient species regard them as simple - minded beasts at best , horrifying monsters at worst . Frog - dogs had two sexes , male and female . At least one member of the species carried smaller frog - dogs in the mouth , belching them out when threatened . Society and culture . In the view of most other sentient species in the galaxy , frog - dogs seemed like non - sentient animals . The squat creatures had no native technology or language , and they seemed content to devote most of their time to eating and slobbering on themselves . Some sentient beings even took frog - dogs as pets , feeding them scraps when they begged with plaintive croaking , and keeping them harnessed and leashed with devices that fit around the frog - dog ' s head and forelimbs . In reality , this was just a front . Frog - dogs were highly intelligent beings . Frog - dogs found it in their best interest to hide their intelligence from others . This afforded them regular access to food — they could eat scraps and crumbs or even something more appealing , like a Jawa — and it enhanced their usefulness as spies and assassins , thus providing them with employment . Frog - dogs understood the value of credits and honored contracts such as bounties to which they had agreed . Despite their lack of language , frog - dogs communicated their emotions via hisses , whines , croaks of laughter , and a that sounded like a cross between a bark and a croak . Their vocalizations could be both loud and throaty . Some members of the species had both a common name , known to outsiders , and a formal name , revealed only to close confidants . Frog - dogs relied heavily on their tongues to interact with the world around them ; they tasted people to get a feel for them , as they could tell a great deal about a person by his or her flavor . The tongue also expressed emotion : curling in disgust , or tickling the roof of the mouth with joy . Frog - dogs at rest often lay with the belly on the ground and the legs splayed , but some also stood upright with the tail held outstretched . They moved by shuffling on their two legs or by hopping . Despite this form of locomotion , frog - dogs could move with great stealth . If threatened , frog - dogs could fight by biting with their sharp teeth and shaking its opponent back and forth . History . As early as the period after the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant , frog - dogs were known in the galaxy . At the time , a Huttball sports team took its name from the two - legged species . The Frog - dogs played a game against a rival team , the Rotworms , on Nar Shaddaa , the smuggler ' s moon . Frog - dogs at large in the galaxy often found employ as assassins and spies , occupations in which they took advantage of the fact that other sentients often took them for non - sentient beasts . Other members of the species worked as watchbeasts , keeping guard for intruders on their employers ' property . Frog - dogs were present in the Mos Eisley spaceport on the planet Tatooine by 32 BBY . Years later , a frog - dog had joined the court of Jabba the Hutt in his palace on the desert world . Buboicullaar , known to the members of Jabba ' s court as Bubo , lived in the Hutt ' s palace in 4 ABY . He was considered the pet of a tribe of Jawas and given the official role of Jabba ' s personal watchbeast , tasked with alerting the court to anyone entering the throne room . When the droids C - 3PO and R2 - D2 arrived in the palace in 4 ABY — and the protocol droid kicked him — Bubo announced their presence by giving a throaty croak . The Gran Ree - Yees was placed in charge of the frog - dog ' s feeding and care , which prompted him to use Bubo in an attempt to kill Jabba . The Gran hid a demolitions transmitter among Bubo ' s flaps of skin . Nevertheless , Bubo hated his keeper , and he ate the device , foiling Ree - Yees ' s plan . Bubo played up the misconception that he was non - sentient because , in reality , he was a spy and assassin who had been contracted to kill the Hutt ; playing dumb allowed him unfettered access to the palace and proximity to his target . During his stay , Bubo befriended the B ' omarr monks who roamed the palace halls in brain walkers . The frog - dog studied under the guidance of the monk Evilo Nailati , and the monks were the only inhabitants of the palace to whom Bubo revealed his sentience . After Jabba was killed by the enslaved Princess Leia Organa during the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon , Bubo gave up his life as an assassin and voluntarily allowed the B ' omarr monks to remove his brain from his cranium and place it in a brain walker . In this form , he spent his time pondering philosophy and the universe . Behind the scenes . Industrial Light & Magic created the frog - dog Bubo as one of the background aliens for Jabba ' s Palace in the film , which was first released in 1983 . The prototype maquette for the creature had a more upright stance than the final creation , standing on his two legs and not dragging the ground . The final character was a suit worn on the upper half of an actor ' s body while the performer ' s legs were hidden in a false floor . In the decades since the film ' s release , Bubo has often been confused with another creature seen in the film , the worrt . The two are members of different species . Frog - dogs appear in the 1994 video game " " as enemy characters in levels representing Jabba the Hutt ' s dance hall and his palace . The game allows the player to take on the role of Chewbacca , Leia Organa , or Luke Skywalker for these stages . The boss enemy of the Jabba ' s Palace level is a giant frog - dog who spits smaller frog - dogs from its mouth . Because these events conflict with those of the " Return of the Jedi " film , this article treats them as non - canonical . Author Daryl F . Mallett expanded on Bubo ' s backstory in his 1996 short story " " , providing his full name — Buboicullaar — and revealing him to be a frog - dog . Mallett was also the first author to establish the species ' sentience . Nevertheless , the " Jabba ' s Palace Limited " expansion of the " Star Wars " Customizable Card Game treats Bubo as a non - sentient creature rather than an intelligent character . Other sources have followed Mallett ' s designation . In the story " " , author Deborah Wheeler calls the character " a bubo " at one point , although it is unknown if this is a mistake or if " bubo " is a general term for all frog - dogs . Bubo has since appeared in various adaptations of " Return of the Jedi " , including the and the . Similarly , frog - dogs have become fixtures of Jabba ' s court in stories such as " " and " " , wherein they appear but play no major role .