Canopus III

Canopus III

Canopus III (or Alpha Carinae III) was the homeworld of a species of native dinosaurs. It was the third planet of the Canopus planetary system.

The planet was known for its desert-like terrain. This planet was located light years from Lactra VII. This was one of three planets in the Canopus system that supported life; the others were the second and the fifth planet. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold", "The Ultimate Computer")

Prior to stardate 5501, James T. Kirk visited Canopus III. During his visit, he saw the dinosaurs.

In 2269, the crew of the USS Enterprise encountered a dinosaur in a desert environment on Lactra VII, that was very much like the dinosaurs native to Canopus III. Despite initially hypothesizing that similar environments prompt similar evolution in species, it was later determined that the beast was, in fact, transplanted to the planet by the Lactrans, who terraformed the desert terrain for the beast as part of their zoo exhibit. (TAS: "The Eye of the Beholder")

The location of Canopus III in the Milky Way Galaxy was depicted on a Federation star chart in 2293. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, production art)

In "The Explored Galaxy" star chart, Alpha Carinae and Canopus III were depicted as two different locations. Canopus III was however depicted as being located between the Tholian Assembly and Romulus. Both of these were identified in DS9: "Call to Arms" as being in the Alpha Quadrant.

Canopus III dinosaur

The location of Alpha Carinae and Canopus III in "The Explored Galaxy" star chart