The moloth was a 23rd century Norusian robot made to look like a huge, menacing crab.
History and specifics
Designed to be frightening, it had a pair of seven-foot-long pincers and a thick, armored shell. Bulky, it moved slowly, making grinding noises once its exterior shell was cracked. Its visual sensors were protected by faceted lenses.
Prior to the year 2266, the robot was built and installed behind massive metal doors along the right wall of the meeting chambers of the Council of the Wise on the planet Norus.
In 2266, James T. Kirk and Spock were captured by a long distance transporter while investigating an abandoned spacecraft and materialized on Norus. Council members accused them of being Eldorian espionage agents and disposed of them through a trial by combat against the moloth, not expecting them to survive. The robt initially appeared daunting, but after Spock cracked its eye lenses, the moloth charged the councillors. Their security guards destroyed it with weapons fire. (TOS comic: "Menace of the Moloth")