The Moappa represented a sentient group of deep-sea species that resided within the oceans of the planet Mon Calamari, also known as Dac. Possessing telepathic abilities, these creatures were able to form a collective consciousness from what were essentially mindless individual organisms. Millions of these diminutive, radiant beings populated the vast ocean of Mon Calamari; despite appearing innocuous individually, the Moappa had the capacity to merge into enormous collectives when faced with danger, thus constructing a colossal group organism for self-defense. Should a Moappa perish within this collective consciousness, it would be promptly replaced by another.
During the initial months of the Clone Wars, Jedi Master Kit Fisto engaged in combat with a Moappa collective. They were assisting the Quarren Isolation League during the Battle of Mon Calamari. Fueled by resentment towards the perceived arrogance of the Mon Calamari in claiming exclusive ownership of the world, the Moappa continued to support the Quarren even after Fisto apprehended the Quarren leadership. Upon discovering their true nature, Fisto urged the Calamari to pursue a diplomatic resolution rather than a military one, which ultimately led to a peaceful accord between the Moappa and their fellow inhabitants. More than a century later, during the rule of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire, the Moappa's home planet underwent a purge that eradicated all life. The Galactic Alliance Remnant took the lead in an evacuation effort to rescue the Moappa and other species.
Moappa were a rudimentary invertebrate species that lived in the ocean. Each Moappa had a conical head with several small tentacles at the base, and a large tentacle or tail extending from its center. They glowed a light pink and looked delicate.
Individually, a Moappa was a mindless organism. However, when a few dozen were assembled, their intelligence rose to genius-level. A Moappa colony could combine into a single entity; sometimes in a humanoid shape, and other times as a series of long chains of Moappa, with each Moappa attaching its tentacles to the head of the next. These combined forms could break apart and rejoin, and if Moappa within them were destroyed, others could swim in to take their place.
Moappa used telepathy to communicate with each other; they could also project their thoughts into the minds of other species, but they could not read minds. However, they reacted very quickly.
The Moappa operated as a collective consciousness. While solitary Moappa lacked intelligence, the species attained a sophisticated intellect when united. Moappa functioned as a single organism when in groups, but this unified mind would dissolve into individual consciousnesses upon separation. Solitary Moappa experienced feelings of loneliness.
Despite sharing the oceans of Mon Calamari with other sentient species, including the Mon Calamari themselves, the Moappa felt that the Mon Calamari considered themselves the only rulers of the world. The Moappa's view that they had as much right to the world as anyone else caused them to clash with the other inhabitants of the planet. Diplomatic talks between the Mon Calamari and Moappa eventually resolved this conflict.
The Moappa had lived on Mon Calamari for a long time, even before the Mon Calamari evolved.
The Moappa believed that the Mon Calamari were unfairly claiming control over the entire planet, so they joined the Quarren Separatists during the Clone Wars to wage war on the planet. After the Galactic Republic destroyed the Quarren command center, the Moappa continued to lead the Quarren in organized attacks on the Mon Calamari. Jedi Master Kit Fisto sensed a presence in the ocean and set out to find the new Quarren leader.
Fisto questioned a group of Quarren and learned that they were receiving orders telepathically. He then spoke with the Mon Calamari, who did not know who could do such a thing. Soon after, Fisto found a Moappa colony. When he touched one, it engulfed his arm, and then other Moappa swarmed him. The other Moappa nearby joined together to form a humanoid shape and spoke to Fisto. A short fight followed, and Fisto learned about the Moappa's motives and abilities. He realized that they were weaker separately than combined, so he used the Force to pull them apart, giving him time to escape.
When the Mon Calamari learned about the Moappa, they worried that they would not be able to defeat them. However, Fisto told them to try diplomacy and make a deal with the other species that lived on their world. After the Clone Wars, the Mon Calamari and Moappa started diplomatic relations, and the two species lived together peacefully.
In 137 ABY, the Galactic Empire under Emperor Darth Krayt began to purge the Mon Calamari as punishment for resisting the Empire. The Moappa remained mostly neutral, but later that year Krayt's successor Darth Wyyrlok ordered the purge of all life on the planet. The Galactic Alliance Remnant started an evacuation of the planet and contacted the Moappa, who understood the danger they were in. One YZ 3000 tanker was used to evacuate the Moappa, which they found sufficient to hold enough of them to maintain the group mind. Along with the rest of the species on the planet, the Moappa were moved to a safe world found by the Jedi.
Millions of Moappa, a deep-sea species, lived in the oceans of Mon Calamari. The Mon Calamari thought they were a harmless, primitive species and did not know their true nature until the Clone Wars. In 137 ABY, they were moved from Mon Calamari to a safe planet after their homeworld was purged of all life.
During the Clone Wars, the Moappa were briefly one of the leaders of the Separatist-aligned Quarren. They gave their orders to the Quarren telepathically, and the Quarren did not know who their leader was or where to find them. About a month after the Battle of Mon Calamari, a Moappa sample was kept in a storage container on Count Dooku's Trenchant space station.
Haden Blackman created the Moappa in the Clone Wars Adventures comic Fierce Currents. They are the seventh intelligent species from Dac to be described in Star Wars Legends.