Mythosaurs: The legendary behemoth of Mandalore explained

Following up with the History of the Mandalorians series, this article focuses on the legendary behemoth of Mandalore, the mythosaur.

Fans familiar with the character of Boba Fett may have noticed an unusual red skull shape of a horned beast on his armor’s shoulder pads. Some mistakenly believed it to be a bantha skull, when in actuality it was the skull of a mythosaur. “A mytho-what?” you might wonder. Glad you asked. For the answer to that and more, read on.

What in the galaxy was a mythosaur?

A mythosaur was a large reptilian beast that lived on the Outer Rim planet of Mandalore. They were the dominant species of their planet until the Taungs — the progenitors of the Mandalorians — arrived on the scene and proceeded to put these colossal beasts on the endangered list.

The Taung’s overthrowing these beasts as the new apex predator was a grand achievement in itself as the mythosaurs were said to be the size of a small city.

Whoa, say that again.

Yep, they were gargantuan. Although that could just be a whole lotta poo-doo. But, according to the legends — and the preserved skeletons that survived — they dwarfed some of the galaxy’s most massive creatures including the krayt dragon. An example of its scale could be seen in the Imperial stronghold on Mandalore called The City of Bone, which was supposedly an accurate replica of a mythosaur skeleton.

Did Mandalorians actually ride mythosaurs?

According to Kuiil, they did. While berating Din Djarin for his difficulty mounting a blurrg, the Ugnaught told the impatient Mandalorian of his ancestors’ reputation for riding the mythosaur. Given the size of these beasts, it would have been quite the feat taming such a colossal creature as a mount. Besides this, it’s also likely that the Mandalorians used the mythosaurs as beasts of burden.

Was that a mythosaur Boba Fett rode on during his first appearance on the Star Wars Holiday Special?

No, that was a Panna Dragon that the bounty hunter was seen riding on during his first encounter with Han, Chewie, Luke, and Leia on the red-water moon Panna Prime. Although, it would be cool to see this gentle, metal-chomping behemoth featured on a future episode of The Mandalorian.

Why did the Mandalorians use the mythosaur skull as their symbol?

The mythosaur was as much a part of the Mandalorians’ culture as was beskar, the planet’s invaluable ore that armor was forged from. Despite the various clans and factions distinguishing themselves with different symbols, it was the kyr’bes, or mythosaur skull that became the universal sigil associated with the Mandalorians.

The kyr’bes was also the name given to the traditional helmet worn by the Mand’alor/Mandalore, the Mandalorians’ sole ruler. As a matter of fact, this helmet had been carved from out of the sternum of a mythosaur, by Mandalore the First. This remained a symbol of power for all of the descending line of Mandalores until the Darksaber belonging to the Mandalorian-Jedi, Tarre Vizsla, replaced it as a scepter of the sovereign ruler.

As you see, the mythosaur was of great importance to the Mandalorians and their culture. In fact, one might say that without the mythosaur, the Mandos might not have developed into the feared crusaders and bounty hunters that they became. Certainly, they wouldn’t have been the same.

That’s it. Join us again as we continue to explore the depths of the Mandalorians’ history and their culture. In the meanwhile, keep into Disney+’s The Mandalorian to satiate your need for more on this awesome coterie of warriors.