Slith The Slith were a sentient serpentine species native to the moon Yavin 13 . Nomadic creatures , they lived in patriarchal tribes of up to fifteen individuals and had little civilization and no permanent structures . The Slith were venomous , preferring to paralyze their prey before eating them alive . They communicated with each other via a rudimentary language consisting of noises produced by rubbing their scales on the ground . Slith had little contact with the wider galaxy , remaining largely undiscovered until the reign of the Galactic Empire . During the Yuuzhan Vong War , their moon was wiped of all life , leading to their extinction . Biology and appearance . The Slith were a limbless , serpentine sentient species , growing to a maximum of five meters . They were covered in jagged scales and were often patterned in stripes or spots . They had milky - white , translucent eyelids , through which they were able to see ; this adaption protected their eyes from sand that was frequently whipped up by the strong winds on their desert moon . Slith were equipped with venomous fangs with which to hunt prey . Their venom paralyzed their victims , enabling the Slith hunters to return live spoils to their tribe ; Slith preferred to consume their prey live . Slith locomotion involved skimming over sand using a twisting action . Alternatively , the Slith could move sideways ( known as sidewinding ) , and in this manner could attain greater speeds . This was particularly useful while hunting , allowing for intense bursts of speed to catch prey . It worked equally well to avoid hazards . While lacking limbs , Slith were able to manipulate items using their coils and mouths , picking up rocks and spears . Slith also had forked tongues . The Slith were nocturnal creatures , hunting for small lizard s and other reptiles during the cool nights . During the hot day , they sought refuge in the shade of giant cacti or other convenient locations . The moon was known to reach temperatures as high as fifteen Galactic Standard degrees , so in the hotter summer months , Slith burrowed deep into sand . This protected them from the worst of the heat while retaining heat for the nights , which could drop to near freezing . Society and culture . The Slith were a nomadic species , creating no permanent dwellings on their homeworld of Yavin 13 . An alpha male led a small tribe of Slith , of no more than eight to fifteen individuals . In addition to the alpha male , tribes consisted of a " lieutenant " male , several mating females with their young , and a couple of juvenile males . When these males came of age , they were exiled from the tribe to form a new family or wander alone . These tribes followed a patriarchal model , with the male responsible for guarding the community ' s traditions while the females did most of the actual work hunting . Juvenile males were also assigned to protect the young during these hunts . Among the females a Slith known as the First Mate had authority . The Slith developed a grammatically simple language known as Slithese , the sounds of which were produced by rubbing their rough scales over the ground . A number of simple signals could be produced , which conveyed different meanings . The language could be learned by non - Slith also ; a number of Gerb — the second sentient species on the moon — learned this skill as a self - defense mechanism . Slith lacked vocal cords , and so were unable to speak Galactic Basic Standard , and while they were able to produce some vocal noises , the unavoidable consequence of moisture evaporation discouraged this developing into an actual language . The Slith had a number of complex communal ceremonies , which provided confirmation to offworlders of their intelligence . These included praying for the spirits of dead ancestors and to desert god s worshiped by the Slith . This task was carried out by female shamans . History . The Slith were still many centuries from developing industrialization at the time of the Galactic Civil War . They had little contact with the wider galaxy , and negligible contact with the Gerb ; however , on occasion the two did cooperate . On such occasions , twilight lizard s proved to be valuable commodities to trade with the Slith . The small reptiles were an excellent source of water and nourishment . Yavin 13 had long been thought to be devoid of intelligent life , until an Imperial scouting expedition discovered both the Slith and the Gerb . At this time , there were approximately nineteen million Slith on the moon . The Rebel Alliance also had some contact with the Slith , sending some negotiators to the moon to open relations with both species ; however , the expedition was sidetracked when the Fernandin Scouting Expedition , which was also on the moon at the time , accidentally introduced a plague that threatened to wipe out the Gerb . When the plague threatened to transfer to Humans , the Imperial presence in the system considered bombarding the moon to prevent further spread . Preventing this massacre of the native lifeforms became the Rebels ' priority over and against contact with the Slith . A tribe of Slith also came into contact with the renowned treasure hunter Suz Tanwa . The Rodian was searching for an old family heirloom left by her ancestor Suvam Tan . Traveling to Yavin 13 in her starship , the " Reeko " , she located the burial site of an ancient pod left by her ancestor as a clue . However , in the site she began to dig , four Slith were resting . They quickly surrounded her , one finally wrapping her in his coils and delivering her to the mouth of a nearby Gerb burrow . The Gerb were able to retrieve the pod from within their burrow without Tanwa digging through their roof . The Slith continued to live on the moon into the time of the New Republic , and their existence was known to the Jedi students on the neighboring moon of Yavin 4 in 22 ABY . However , this peaceful existence was brought to an end during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion . As part of their efforts to crush the New Jedi Order , the Yuuzhan Vong invaded and conquered the Yavin system . In addition to razing the Jedi temple on Yavin 4 , they wiped Yavin 13 and Yavin 8 clean of life — causing the extinction of the Slith . Slith in the galaxy . While the Slith were largely unknown to the galaxy until discovered by Imperial scouts , one Slith was known to have left the moon far earlier : during the Great Sith War , a red - skinned Slith known as Sssiii was part of the Galactic Circus . While possessing only limited intelligence , the Slith entertained by playing chess against spectators . Sssiii was present with the Galactic Circus when they toured the planet Tatooine . One notable Slith during the Galactic Civil War was Dresk Kist . Both shaman and First Mate of her tribe , Kist also excelled as a hunter . She frequently went on solo hunts while the rest of her tribe slept . It was on one such excursion that Kist encountered a Rebel scout team that was exploring the moon for a suitable location for a base of operations . Behind the scenes . The Slith first appeared in " " , published by West End Games in 1989 . This information was later repeated in " Alien Encounters " in 1998 , alongside an original illustration . Further information on the Slith was provided in " Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds " ( 2004 ) and " " ( 2004 ) , an installment in the Wizards of the Coast Planet Hoppers series . A Slith by the name of Sssiii also appeared in the article " Le facteur X " in the French roleplaying game magazine " Casus Belli " in 1998 . It is unknown whether this article went through the Lucasfilm licensing process , and so its canon icity is uncertain .