The cavern beast represented a peculiar lifeform engineered by the Yuuzhan Vong.
This stationary organism possessed a massive mouth, deceptive in its appearance as a lichen-covered cave, which functioned as its stomach. A telepathic deception, simulating distress in the minds of others, served to attract both animals and sentient beings into the cavern beast's gaping maw.
Once inside, rhythmic contractions propelled prey into specialized holding stomachs. The creature derived sustenance and essential elements from the waste products of its captives, while their combined body heat maintained a stable internal temperature. It sustained the captives by secreting nourishing, fatty substances into edible stalactites within the cavern. When the cavern beast required additional nourishment, it employed peristalsis to force captives into its digestive chamber, where they were broken down and assimilated into its biological system.
The Yuuzhan Vong generally avoided these creatures, and a specific individual speculated that the cavern beast might be a primitive ancestor of the worldships.
At least a single specimen of this species existed on the terraformed Coruscant following its subjugation by the Yuuzhan Vong empire. This particular creature thrived in the deepest recesses of the transformed city. It ensnared numerous captives within its oral cavity and provided refuge for survivors of the city, sheltering them from the Yuuzhan Vong who resided within. In exchange for this sanctuary, the survivors offered up one of their own for digestion, adhering to a policy where the most recent victim of the telepathic lure was the first to be sacrificed.
Jacen Solo became a victim of the cavern beast when he rescued a teenage girl slated for sacrifice by the cave's inhabitants. Following her rescue, the people residing within the cavern beast, including the girl he saved, betrayed him and attempted to sacrifice Jacen. Enraged, he implanted a suggestion into the cavern beast's simple mind, conveying that all members of the New Republic were toxic. The creature subsequently regurgitated its prey, expelling them from its orifice before sealing its teeth to prevent their return.
The survivors who were expelled harbored resentment towards Jacen, believing that he had destroyed their only sanctuary from the Yuuzhan Vong.