Artiodacs were a fearsome-looking sentient species native to the cold, swampy planet Artiod Minor with tough hides, bulging arms, and deep, rumbling voices whose members could live for several centuries. Although most were quiet, solitary beings by nature, centuries of enslavement by the Zygerrian Slave Empire, who overran Artiod Minor, forced upon them the reputation of serving as gladiators in galactic arenas, hired muscle for crime lords, and janissaries in private armies. The disfigured chef Strono Tuggs was an Artiodac, as was the staff cook who served the Smuggler’s crew.

Mated Artiodacs spent their long lifespans tending to aqua-farms on their homeworld, where they cared for schools of prengalli.