Dewbacks are thick-skinned reptiles indigenous to the arid world of Tatooine. On this planet, they serve as pack animals and are also utilized as mounts by specialized sandtroopers known as Dewback troopers.
Being robust reptilian lizards that are native to the deserts of Tatooine, dewbacks possess the ability to endure the intense heat from the world's twin suns, along with the pervasive dust that can cause mechanical failures in advanced vehicles. They are characterized by their tough, scaly green hides, elongated, rounded heads, and relatively short tails. They move slowly across the desert terrain on four clawed feet, and while they can achieve short bursts of speed, they generally become inactive during the night and in colder environments. Female dewbacks produce between fifty and eighty-five eggs during each standard year. The name of the species comes from their behavior of using their flicking tongues to lick the morning dew off their backs.
The diet of dewbacks consists of tubers, patches of grass, and womp rats. They emit unusual, deep moaning sounds, similar to those made by a bantha. Their strength and resilience make dewbacks suitable for use as a means of transportation.
On Tatooine, dewbacks served as steady and dependable mounts. Citizens of Mos Eisley rode them alongside other creatures like rontos and jerbas. Additionally, they were used as beasts of burden, transporting goods for merchants and moisture farmers. They were also used to haul podracer parts to starting grids, such as during the Boonta Eve Classic podrace at the Mos Espa Grand Arena.
Gozetta displayed a dewback corpse among the big-game trophies at the Xirl hunting lodge, which was discovered by Milo and Lina Graf. During the Age of the Empire, dewbacks were used by stormtrooper patrols stationed at Tatooine's Imperial garrison. These Dewback troopers employed electric shocks to control their mounts, using them to break down the property of the Empire's enemies. When stimulated, a dewback could briefly accelerate. A group of sandtroopers sent to Tatooine to recover the Death Star plans stolen during the Battle of Scarif rode dewbacks native to the planet. Two sandtroopers rode dewbacks as part of Darth Vader's security detail for his meeting with Jabba Desilijic Tiure at the Hutt's palace after the Battle of Yavin. Malakili, Jabba's beastmaster, possessed a small water shiv crafted from dewback bone.
During the New Republic era, two bounty hunters Toro Calican and Din Djarin spotted a masked individual riding a dewback while hunting for Fennec Shand. Upon closer inspection, Djarin noticed a tracking fob that revealed a deceased bounty hunter. After capturing Shand, Djarin pursued the dewback, which was frightened by Shand's blaster fire. Upon returning, Djarin discovered Shand's death and rode the dewback back to Hangar 3-5 after uncovering Calican's betrayal.
The initial appearance of the dewback was in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, where it was presented as an animatronic creation. In the 1997 Special Edition, a new CGI version was introduced. Ultimate Star Wars accurately notes their average height as six feet, but incorrectly converts this measurement to nine meters, instead of two.