Monkey-Lizard

Kowakian monkey-lizards were a bipedal reptilian species native to a jungle-like Outer Rim planet called Kowak. Although they had no established culture, Kowakian monkey-lizards were quite intelligent, and despite their silly, cruel nature, they were considered sentient by many sentientologists in the galaxy, although there was much debate over that designation. Standing roughly seventy centimeters tall, Kowakian monkey-lizards had small, spindly bodies, two large, floppy ears and a beak-like nose, with tufts of thick hair growing around their neck and on the tops of their heads. Some subspecies had long, prehensile tails. Kowakian monkey-lizards were rarely found off their homeworld, although it was not uncommon to find a monkey-lizard in the service of a crime lord. One such individual was Salacious B. Crumb, a court jester on Tatooine for Hutt gangster Jabba Desilijic Tiure.

Biology and Appearance

Kowakian monkey-lizards were reptilian bipeds, with thin, almost twig-like limbs, and a small, triangular head atop slender shoulders. They had two large, highly sensitive, floppy ears, which curved backwards and narrowed into a thin, hairy point, and often had several small holes in them, though not always. Some monkey-lizards wore piercings in those ears. In place of a nose, monkey-lizards had a wide, hooked, dark-colored beak, like that of a reptile, which could be opened to reveal a large, toothless mouth. In some specimens, that beak was a different color from the rest of the body, even having two shades, such as white and black. They had two wild, yellow eyes, which were usually very close to each other, although that feature varied. Their skin color was typically a light brown or tan color, though some had red, green, blue, or yellow skin, or even a combination of two of those hues. A particular monkey-lizard might exhibit different-colored markings around the eyes. Each monkey-lizard had tufts of thick hair growing around their neck, resembling a ruff, on the tops of their heads, and at corners of their jawbones. Some also had a tuft at the tip of the tail. The color of that hair varied: it was usually black or dark brown, though a lighter brown, green, purple, as well as a slightly orange shade were also known to exist. Kowakian monkey-lizards generally had long, thin tails, though some variants of the species had no tail. Their limbs ended in three spindly digits that sported sharp talons. Immature monkey-lizards were once described by Darth Vectivus as being the "ugliest larvae in the galaxy".

Society 

Monkey-lizards resided mainly in large tree nests, and enjoyed swinging through the green rain forests of Kowak. Their diet consisted largely of various insects, worms and small rodents. They ate quite regularly, as their small bodies required much nourishment. They were also scavengers, choosing to eat carrion instead of fresh meat or vegetables. Rotting flesh was quite unhealthy to eat, so many in the galaxy speculated as to why they chose it: theories included that they preferred to have others do their work, or they wished to avoid predatory animals.
Monkey-lizards were extremely destructive and curious, and loved to explore, rarely leaving the packs they moved around in for protection against predators. They often used their ceaseless, loud laughter to scare off any potential attackers. They traveled in groups, making as much noise as possible in an attempt to intimidate other creatures in the jungles. After finding a corpse, monkey-lizards spent time fighting over the food instead of sharing it. Kowakians were known to be extremely cruel and mean-spirited to both other monkey-lizards and to members of other species. They had a clear sense of mischief and humor, and were known to mock others, laugh at them, and even fling objects towards them simply because they found it amusing. They were able to perfectly mimic almost any language, and according to certain studies, communicate in those languages if they wished. Monkey-lizards were also known to laugh at appropriate times during conversations, and could often repeat back what they heard fairly accurately.
Members of the species could attack even larger foes, like Humans, by climbing onto them; clawing, and biting. For instance, a monkey-lizard might latch on to a foe's face and scratch it, or the monkey-lizard might bite the opponent's leg. Some even exhibited the ability to wield melee weapons in combat, such as knives. Members of the species could move quickly, shambling about on all fours and climbing rapidly over intervening obstacles. The sentience of Kowakian monkey-lizards was a highly debated topic among the greater galactic scientific community. The issue was never officially decided, though many declared them sentient; they believed this as although monkey-lizards were cruel, they were also quite intelligent.
Monkey-lizards had very little culture or structured society to speak of. They had a sort of hierarchical boundary within each group of nests, with the oldest female acting as leader. Each monkey-lizard was given a specific role: some were assigned to gather food, others would maintain the nest, while yet others scouted for predators. Nothing was known about how the monkey-lizards reproduced; in the wild, monkey-lizards usually chased away those who attempted to study them and their behavior, and those in captivity had to be separated from other members of their species due to the noise levels they exhibited when left together. Sentientologists estimated that monkey-lizards laid eggs as a group about once a year, with only a few of the eggs surviving to hatch.

Boilogical Classification

Designation: Semi-Sentient
Classification: Reptilian

Physical Characteristics 

Average Heights: 2.2 Feet
Skin Color: Yellow, Red, Green and Light Blue
Eye Color: Yellow

Sociocultural Characteristics

Homeworld: Kowak
Habitat: Rain Forest
Diet: Insects, Worms and Small Rodents