The cu-pa was a bipedal, theropod-like species of reptomammal native to the Outer Rim worlds of Nam Chorios and Tatooine. They were distant cousins of the tauntaun, another species of omnivorous reptomammals indigenous to the icy planet of Hoth. However, unlike the tauntaun, the cu-pa had a more brightly colored hide, and were not nearly as intelligent. However, they were very passive, and could be trained by beast masters to act as mounts. The cu-pa was mostly comparable in size to the tauntaun, but a subspecies known as the wasteland cu-pa could grow to much larger sizes. Bioengineers were also known to use the DNA of the cu-pa to incubate mutated variants known as co-henpa.