Carnivorous crabs known as Vonduun crabs originated on the far-off planet of Zav Alox. The native sentient species of the planet, the Aloxians, were naturally very aggressive at birth. Therefore, Aloxian children were tasked with hunting these crabs early in life, and if the children survived the hunt, they would wear the skulls of the crabs to control their inherent aggression. Eventually, the Aloxians would outgrow these skulls, which would then break due to the increasing size of the wearer's head. During the High Republic Era, the Patrolian Farks obtained a vonduun crab skull and gifted it to the pirate queen Maz Kanata, who housed it within her castle on Takodana. Later, the Force-sensitive Aloxian Qort, after his arrival there, acquired the skull.
The vonduun crab's skull made its initial appearance in Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, specifically the thirty-fifth issue of the 2016 comic series. Simon Spurrier penned the issue, Andrea Broccardo provided the illustrations, and Marvel Comics released it on August 21, 2019. The creature itself debuted in the ninth issue of the Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series, authored by Daniel José Older and published by IDW Publishing on October 6, 2021.
Within the Star Wars Legends continuity, the living shell of the vonduun crab first manifested as a component of the Vonduun Skerr Kyrric armor worn by the Yuuzhan Vong in The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime, the 1999 novel written by R. A. Salvatore. The creature's first appearance was in the 2000 novel The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin by Michael A. Stackpole.