Nautolan/Legends

"There's an ocean planet... Home to Nautolans... Glee Anselm?"

- Mace Windu

The Nautolans, sometimes referred to as the Nautiloids, were an amphibious humanoid species from the planet Glee Anselm. Although they established settlements across their aquatic homeworld, most Nautolan civilization was found in the Sabilon region. The most well known Nautolan was Jedi Master Kit Fisto, a hero of the Clone Wars and member of the Jedi Council.

Biology and appearance


Nautolans possessed physiology common to amphibious species, including low light vision and excellent swimming skills. They stood an average of 1.8 meters, had smooth green, blue, or brown skin, and large black or dark maroon eyes with lids that were seldom used. They were capable of breathing underwater; however, unlike other water-based species, Nautolans did not experience difficulties out of water.

Nautolans possessed exceptional olfactory and pheromone-sensing skills, enhanced by head-tresses. These tendrils were used to detect the emotional state of another being, but were most effective underwater. Within Nautolan culture, the ability to sense pheromone changes was an essential part of the communication process. All Nautolans had fourteen sensory tentacles and multiple hearts, which were capable of beating separately.

Like their sense of smell, Nautolan language was also maximized for use underwater and not fully pronounceable in a gaseous atmosphere. Because of the loss in linguistic detail, most Nautolans chose to speak Anselmian or Galactic Basic when traveling off-world. In addition, Nautolans used other communicative cues when submerged, such as reading the swirls in other Nautolans' large eyes.

Society and culture
Little was known about Nautolan culture, as few Nautolans left Glee Anselm, but their music was occasionally found amongst savvy music collectors. Nautolan music was composed of sustained notes held in irregular patterns with occasional pauses. These pauses were considered the most important part of the music to the Nautolans, causing non-Nautolan listeners to misunderstand their artistic intent.

Nautolans in the galaxy
In the days of the Old Republic, Dossa was a female Nautolan criminal and the ultimate cause of Haazen's fall to the dark side of the Force. She joined Exar Kun as a Sith servant and fought in the Great Sith War. She led Haazen and his mentor, Barrison Draay, into a trap that resulted in Draay's death and Haazen's extreme disfigurement. Dossa was killed by Haazen in a vengeful rage for her part in his injuries.

The Gynt family was a famous Jedi dynasty of Nautolans prior to the Great Galactic War, with the most renowned of the family being Eison Gynt, the last of the line.

One of the most famous Nautolans to be seen off their homeworld was Kit Fisto. He was a Jedi Master during the final years of the Galactic Republic and a General in the Clone Wars. He, along with three other Masters, attempted to arrest Supreme Chancellor Palpatine when he was revealed to be a Sith Lord. Fisto was the third of the four Masters to be killed by the Chancellor.

After the Battle of Yavin, the Rak'qua, a group of Nautolan warriors led by Overlord Rrynt'vor, took control of the asteroid base Station Gamma in the Bright Jewel system.

Behind the scenes
A nautiloid is a type of shelled cephalopod.

In the Star Wars: The Clone Wars CGI television series, Kit Fisto is shown blinking his eyes, both with expression and as a reflex. This is likely a production error, as Fisto's species was originally thought to have had lidless eyes. However, it can be explained that in the episodes in which he does this as a reflex, his eyes were exposed to atmospheric conditions that were more irritating than usual for his species - such as the fog on Vassek, the world where Grievous' lair was located.

On page 18 of Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance, "Nautolan" is misspelled as "Nawtolan".

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * Path of the Jedi
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Quest for R2-D2 film