Guess what time it is? Time to sit through another of Trak's theories! Last time we discussed a general overview of Rodian biology, and in the comments, a number of things were mentioned. This lead me to start putting together a more in-depth theory rather than what I had written before. I'm dividing it up into parts, concentrating on a specific aspect.

Today, we're gonna discuss the unique Rodian facial features. Yep, it's all about the snout! I plan to detail the diet, benefits of having a snout, and even what the underlying bone structure may look like. I wanna clarify 'fore I go on, though, that any dietary notes are based on the shape of the snout, not the size. As Yoda says, size matters not. All my speculation is based on the snout's structure.

Anywho, many references have described a Rodian's snout to be "tapir-like," and the New Essential Guide to Alien Species says that it serves as a "special filter for their finely-tuned olfactory senses." That statement alone places their sense of smell in the snout and not the antennae as some have suggested. Now, there are no indications of any type of nostrils, so either the nasal cavity is located on the upper jaw, beneath the lip, or Rodians "taste" the air. Seeing as how it's said that the snout itself aides in detecting scents, then using the tongue and palate to "taste" smells in the air would be a lot more probable.

That said, the pheromone detection would be based on taste. A Rodian would "smell" by flicking his or her tongue, much like a snake or lizard, which would catch odour molecules and transfer 'em to olfactory receptors in the mouth. Though, since the Rodians are often seen open-mouthed, then all "smelling" is done by mouth-breathing; the snout concentrating and essentially funneling scents to the olfactory receptors without tongue-flicking.

As it's been said, Rodians have a pebbly skin-surface, but their snouts are smooth. This may be due to their snouts being highly sensitive. They possibly have used their snouts to sift through soft dirt, mud, sand, or insect mounds in search of a meal. This would benefit greater if they rooted through muddy lakebeds or such in search of crustaceans. Their arms would already be occupied with swimming, thus using the snout to find food would be helpful.

If the primary diet of Rodians are insects and small crustaceans, then they would need teeth to break the shells and carapaces, right? Well, they have teeth... sort of. Click the provided hi-res link of this image and look closely at it. Notice the small ridge on the lower jaw? That's the "teeth" right there! Inside that snout, Rodians have a sharp, bony beak, much like what turtles have. This beak allows 'em to crush insect carapaces and crustacean shells. Beyond that beak, I don't think Rodians possess any real teeth. So they wouldn't chew their food. They'd probably bite their meal into smaller portions, crush it against their palate and swallow it whole, much like most reptiles.

To further aide in digestion, it's possible that a Rodian would consume small amounts of gravel or sand to grind food in the stomach. So, if Greedo ate a handful of sand prior to the cheeseburger mentioned in the previous theory, it's not because Tatooine's twin suns are melting his brain; he's just avoiding any indigestion. Think of it as natural Zantac.

Rodians could also inflict one painful nip if they wanted to. And poor George Lucas here found out the hard way. I guess Greedo wasn't very happy with the "improvements" made to his scene. Ouch!

The snout shape would allow for a very wide vocal range, and it has been indicated that Rodians hoot. Though, due to the shape of the palate and rasping beak, it apparently causes some difficulties, lisping being a common impediment for Basic-speaking Rodians.

So there you have it; my in-depth research and coverage on Rodian snouts. I don't plan on stopping here, either. The next facial feature to get some extra attention? The eyes have it. So stay tuned and be amazed at my total lack of a social life and anything better to do.

This has been another of Trak Nar's wild and crazy theories.