The Jodakan needler crab was native to the water world Jodaka, living in the rocky reefs above the oceans. A deadly crustacean, its main prey was gulls, which in turn would attempt to hunt the needler crab. Similar in look to the spider crab found on many other worlds, the needler crab had six legs, two pincers, two eyestalks that jutted out from the body and two feelers. The main distinction of the needler crab, however, was the hollow tube that ran the length of its back, jutting up from under the crab's shell. In the tube, the crab secreted a paralytic poison that solidified into a small barb. The crab was then able contract air sacs at the end of the tube to fire the barb at passing gulls, poisoning them and claiming its prey. The needler crab could produce a barb every four hours, and would take any opportunity to down a flying bird.
A Jodakan needler-crab
Prior to the Ruusan Reformations in 1000 BBY, Jedi Padawan Bowspritz spent a month studying the needler crab on Jodaka. Bowspritz added the information to the Jedi Temple's Archives. During the Galactic Civil War, needler crabs were kept as pets by some individuals who had learned to fire the needler crab's dart on command by tapping the air sacs on the back of the creature. When away from Jodaka, owners needed to ensure that the crab spent at least four hours a day in a saltwater environment, and be fed a pound of meat a day. The Bimm merchant Glah Ubooki had a needler crab for sale in each of the eighteen shops run by the Ubooki brothers on various planets, and they sold for 250 credits each.
- "Glah Ubooki's Strange & Wondrous Imports" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 1
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force