Aggoron (Jedi Renaissance)

"One of the galaxy's great space-faring species, the Aggoron have long been a trading species that can be found across the space-lanes. Unusual, however, is their absence in the ranks of our Order. While recent events seem poised to change that, no record of Aggoron Jedi has ever been discovered."

- Jedi Knight Horen Hote, writing about the Aggoron's unusual absence from the Order.

Aggoron were a amphibian species native to the wasteland world Nentan in the region of the galaxy. While their homeworld was only discovered by the Republic and the Jedi at the end of the Inter-Sith Wars Period, the Aggoron were seen across the galaxy since circa 17,000 BrS as traders, economists, and spacers. The Jedi, however, had never been able to build a strong relationship with the species and therefore had no members of the people among their ranks. Found in many ports along the Mid and Outer Rim, Aggoron were noted for their curious nature and for being fiercely protective of their fellow business beings.

Biology and appearance
A sophisticated race of amphibian, the Aggoron were a sentient species that belonged to the anura order of amphibians. Evolved from four-legged, aquatic frogs the Aggoron were bipedal beings with a bilateral symmetry, having a front and a back end, as well as an upside and downside. Their body comprised a head, neck, torso, and four limbs. The upper limbs, called arms, ended in hands which had four fingers each with suction-cup tips; the lower ones, called legs, ended in feet with four digits also. Aggoron fingers had multiple points of articulation, and one of them was an opposable thumb that allowed for fine manipulation. Finally, they had one head perched atop a torso with an flat-backed skull comprised of two eyes, nose-slits, organs for hearing, and a small mouth with two tusks on either side.

Aggorons had a juvenile stage and an adult stage, and their biology evolved to accordingly. In the tadpole stage, Aggoron hearts were two-chambered and pumped blood through the gills where it was oxygenated, around the body and back to the heart in a single loop. In the adult stage, Aggoron lost their gills and developed lungs. Their heart that consisted of a single ventricle and two atria. When the ventricle started contracting, deoxygenated blood was pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs. Continued contraction would then pumps oxygenated blood around the rest of the body. A cold-blooded species, they had limited physiological means of keeping their body temperature constant and relied on external sources of heat. An insectivorous species, Aggoron had two hard palates for mashing their food. Aggorons caught their prey by flicking out an elongated tongue with a sticky tip and drawing it back into the mouth before seizing the item with their jaws. Using inertial feeding to help them swallow theior prey, Aggorons disturbed many non-amphibians by repeatedly thrusting their head forward sharply to force their food to move down their throats. The skin of the Aggoron was supple and often slimy to the touch, keeping them cool and healthy. The outside of the skin was shed periodically more or less in one piece, revealing a new skin beneath. The sloughed skin was considered a delicacy by Aggoron aristocrats. With skin permeable to water, Aggorons could respire under water allowing them to sleep at the bottom of still water bodies. Because their skin was thin and delicate, mucus glands on their heads secreted enough fluid to keep it moist. The skin colour of Aggorons ranged from blue, green, to brown.

Aggoron had two sexes: male and female, with the latter being distinguished by their overall smaller stature and darker skin coloration. Members of the Aggoron race could not interbreed naturally with any other races. Despite overall physiological uniformity, Aggoron varied greatly in appearance, and no two Aggoron looked exactly alike. One of the diversity factors was height. Aggoron averaged 1.4 meters in height, although males were usually taller and heavier than females. A diurnal species, the Agorron had white eyes adapted to daylight conditions, with color vision and some visual depth perception. Aggoron were sexually-reproduced animals, requiring the mating of an opposite sex couple to produce offspring. Male Aggoron fertilized the eggs of the female as she laid them, often spawning 3,000 eggs. Only about one hundred Aggoron young will develop into tadpoles, hatching after 7-9 days into fresh water pools. These tadpoles will then compete for dominance, developing into limbed Aggoron after a year. Continuing to grow through a protracted adolescence stage, Aggoron reached the legal transition from childhood to adulthood after fifteen standard years of life. Aggoron had an average lifespan of 50 standard years. Those who were keenly attuned to the Force could live up to 150. At any rate, individuals past the age of 60 were considered to have reached an age worthy of veneration. Natural signs of ageing in Aggoron included the dulling or skin, the loss of their facial tusks, failure of vision, and loss of motor-function. Old Aggoron would experience a decline in many cognitive processes, frequently losing track of time, misidentifying people or places and, in extreme cases, momentarily forgetting about their own identity or state.

Aggoron Jedi
Like all species which served in the Order, Aggoron were represented in the Grand Temple on Ossus. Within the main entrance of the Temple, known as the Hall of Meditating Masters, a larger-than-life bronzium statue was erected in dedication to all Aggoron who had and who would serve. The kneeling Master did not depict an actual Jedi, but served as a rallying point for Aggoron Jedi to attain mastery. In the Sword of the Jedi tower, the lightsabers of all Jedi were placed in memory of fallen warriors and scholars alike. The Edifice of Heroes stood ready to adorn its halls with paintings, monuments, or holodepictions of all future Aggoron Jedi.