Lyco Pibex were small, non-sentient creatures, approximately a meter in height. Their dual legs allowed them to run at a considerable pace, and they also possessed two arms with which they could manipulate and grasp objects. The skin of the Lyco Pibex was red in hue, and for nutrition, their diet included metal alloys.
Lyco Pibex were passive by nature, but also considered to be strange. For communication, they relied on a series of squeaks and hisses.
Lyco Pibex were found throughout the galaxy. They were kept as domesticated pets by interstellar spacers. At some stage, two Lyco Pibex brought to Mos Eisley on Tatooine escaped, and were able to form a colony. Their tendency to consume the metal alloys that the local Jawa scavengers often hoped to salvage brought them into direct conflict with the natives. As the decades wore on, the Jawas grew increasingly irritated with the Mos Eisley Lyco Pibex colony, and would even resort to firing their ion blasters at the creatures to scare them away.
The Lyco Pibex were created by Brendon Fraim through the "Design An Alien" competition held by the Star Wars Galaxy magazine. The competition was initiated in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3 (1995), where prospective contestants were asked to design aliens based on the universe of the original Star Wars trilogy. Fraim, who was 22 years of age at the time, had his entry published in the "16 years old and up" division of the competition, which was displayed in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 7 (1996). The entry for the Lyco Pibex came in second place in the division, after the Ubese Thorn-Back War Dragon. Continuity editor Leland Chee later confirmed that the published "Design an Alien" is canon. The Lyco Pibex have not been referenced in any later Star Wars works.