Ginnthos were large non-sentient carnivorous spiders native to the planet Utapau who lived in the world's dark sinkhole caverns. They had the ability to spin durable silk, which they used to trap their prey before consuming it. During the primitive days of the sentient Pau'an species, ginnthos hunted alongisde them, and they formed a close bond. Ginnthos ended up being domesticated by Pau'ans, sometimes being kept in the stables in cities to remove vermin.
At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, the Evereni Velya Faer remarked that the Evereni pirate leader Marda Ro is like a ginntho at the center of a web, which Ro mentioned in a message she recorded for her descendants. By 252 BBY, her great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to the recording in which Ro mentioned ginnthos. In 19 BBY, ginnthos in Utapau's capital Pau City were employed in the fight against battle droids belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
Ginnthos were large non-sentient spiders from the Outer Rim Territories Planet Utapau, who possessed eight legs that enabled them to crawl on vertical surfaces. Their bodies also featured feathery antennae and their average length reached 2 meters. They had purple and black skin with purple markings on their abdomen. Their bodies contained six spinnerets that produced exceptionally strong silk.
Ginnthos were carnivorous and wrapped their prey in silk for several weeks prior to devouring it. They lived in dark passageways in the sinkhole caverns on Utapau and could be domesticated and trained to produce silk on command or hunt vermin. Ginnthos were associated with webs.
When the society of the Pau'an natives of Utapau was primitive, ginnthos hunted side by side with them and developed a close bond with the sentients. The creatures eventually ended up sometimes being kept in stables to deal with vermin such as rodents. In 19 BBY, there were ginnthos in Utapau's capital Pau City and the arachnids were used to create traps to ensnare battle droids belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems during that year's Battle of Utapau.
At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, the Evereni Velya Faer compared Marda Ro—the Evereni founder of a group of pirates who would eventually become the Nihil—to a ginntho at the center of a web while talking about how she is different from other Evereni due to surrounding herself by beings. Ro later mentioned this comparison in a message she recorded for her descendants while recounting her conversation with Faer. By 252 BBY, during his youth, Ro's great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to her journal, including the message where ginnthos were mentioned.
Ginnthos first appeared in Revenge of the Sith.
Ginnthos first appeared in the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, which was released on May 19, 2005. In the current Star Wars canon, they were first identified in Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, a reference book released on September 4, 2015. The name originates in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was introduced in the 2006 reference book Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary.
There seems to be confusion as to ginnthos' classification. Absolutely Everything You Need to Know describes them as large spiders, as does its updated edition Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded, released on October 1, 2017. Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia—a reference book released on April 4, 2017—also labels ginnthos spiders, but includes them in a section labeled "arachnid-like." The "Guide to the Galaxy: Wildlife of Utapau" article in the fortieth issue of the De Agostini Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon magazine released around October 7, 2015 states that their classification is arachnid and describes them as spiderlike. As the classification provided by Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded is the most consistent one, this article treats it as the correct classification.
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know
- Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 40
- Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded