Duros

[Jenno]

The Duros, sometimes known as Durosians, were a humanoid species native to the planet Duro who were among the galaxy's first space faring races.

Their homeworld was located on both the Corellian Trade Spine and at the end of the Duros Space Run, two major hyperspace routes that linked Duro with other important commercial centers.

The Duros were humanoids with smooth blue-green skin, red eyes, lipless mouths and long thin noseless faces. Olfactory glands beneath their eyes were responsible for their sense of smell. Both females and males were bald, though both genders were easily distinguished. Their large red goggle-like eyes also had slit pupils. The Neimoidians were closely related to the Duros.

While usually taciturn, Duros enjoyed telling stories about their travels. It was said Duros had a photographic memory when it came to the telling of tales and stories. Many Duros were pilots and explorers, and were adventurous, though sometimes rash. As one of the first cultures to develop hyperdrive spacecraft (some even believe the first), Duros-charted trade routes were among the oldest hyperspace routes still in use during the Imperial era. Even in the later periods of galactic history, Duros were still known for their superior astro-navigational skills. The Duros language was Durese, which was a lingua franca of sorts amongst spacers.

Ellorrs Madak and Baniss Keeg in Chalmun's Cantina on Tatooine.Their home planet Duro was primarily uninhabited. Instead, it was covered with automated farms for food production. The Duros lived in twenty orbital space cities above the planet.

The Duros also established a vast, grand starship construction industry in the Duro system that rivaled the one in the Corellian system. The Duros set up their government around a consortium of starship construction corporations, with all important political decisions made by the stockholders of the corporations. This meant that any Duros that held stock in a company could participate in the administration of the system.

The Duros were also one of the founding races of the Galactic Republic. Years before the formation of the Republic, the Duros colonized the planet Neimoidia, giving rise to a genetically distinct "newer version" of Duros, the Neimoidians. The Neimoidians retained many similarities to their Duros cousins including basic form, noseless faces, and green skin (though Neimoidians tended to be grayer). However, in contrast to their ancestors, Neimoidians possessed pupils that split horizontally, lumpy foreheads, and perpetually frowning mouths. In addition, Neimoidians tended to be cowardly, greedy and fearful of death, whereas the average Duro was adventurous, gregarious and peaceful. Not surprisingly, one of the most powerful insults among the Duros was to be called a Neimoidian.

Unlike most humanoids, Duros laid eggs, usually in specially prepared nests. After the young Duros hatched, they were cared for and educated by their families. This was another thing that set them apart from the Neimoidians, who did not care for their young.