Yoshi (species)

Yoshi (referred to as Yoshisaurs in the Super Mario World cartoon) are an intelligent species of dinosaur that first appeared in Super Mario World. They later starred in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story, Yoshi Touch & Go, and Yoshi's Island DS.

The name is derived from the Japanese interjection "yoshi!", meaning good or great. Though the Yoshi bears visual similarities to the lizard family, the creature's unique characteristics mark it out as a unique species of it's own. Though Yoshis appear to be male, they are capable of laying eggs which are produced immediately after consuming other animals or fruit. Yoshi appears to have little interest in hatching these eggs, as they are often thrown and smashed soon after they are layed. In the Super Smash Bros. series, Yoshi is able to turn himself into an egg to either protect himself or to roll into others as an attack. Yoshis are most commonly of a green coloration, but many other colors have been seen on the creatures' natural island habitat, Yoshi's Island. They have been known to inhabit other areas, most notably the Yoshi's Village of Lavalava Island. The Yoshi species can also be used as a steed, similar to a horse.

The plural for Yoshi has often been a topic of serious debate. Some argue that "Yoshis" is the proper term, while others argue that "Yoshies" is correct. Japanese plurals have no indicative marks, meaning that "Yoshi" is another possibility. Nintendo of America has used both "Yoshies" and "Yoshis" in the Super Nintendo and Game Boy Advance versions of Yoshi's Island, respectively. It may be that both versions are valid.

Super Mario World
Yoshis were first introduced in Super Mario World. Some Yoshis had been kidnapped by Bowser and his children during their invasion of Dinosaur Land. They had to be rescued by Mario and his brother Luigi, with help from their friend Yoshi.

Other green Yoshis, as well as red, yellow, blue Yoshis can be found in the Star World. Eating Koopa shells gives Yoshis different abilities: after eating a red shell, the Yoshi would spit out a fireball, while yellow shells would make it heavy enough to shake the ground each time it lands a jump, and blue shells cause the Yoshi to grow wings and fly. Red, yellow and blue Yoshis experience the effect of the corresponding shell colour regardless of the colour of the shell they themselves were holding in their mouth. The rainbow shells of a Kamikaze Koopa grant all three special effects, while green shells yield no extra abilities, and could merely be spat out as a ricocheting projectile. If the Yoshi holds the shell in its mouth for too long, it swallows it. Yoshis can also eat other enemies as well as berries that grow on bushes in certain areas; eating enough berries causes the Yoshi to lay an egg that hatches into a 1-Up Mushroom.

If the Yoshi gets hurt by an enemy, it drops Mario and runs around in a panic until Mario jumps back on its saddle.

Super Mario Sunshine
Yoshis play a major role in Super Mario Sunshine, acting as transportation for Mario proving themselves to be the key to obtaining several Shine Sprites. Yoshis normally appear in three different colors depending on what they eat: orange, pink, and purple. To get a Yoshi, Mario must first find a Yoshi Egg and give it the specific fruit it wants. Then the Yoshi will hatch and Mario can ride him. Each color of a Yoshi is also given the ability to spit different colored juice (the "Juice" ability replaces the function of F.L.U.D.D.) that affect enemies in different ways. The orange juice can turn enemies into orange hovering blocks that disappear after a short amount of time, while the purple and pink juices make a similar block of the corresponding color but move vertically or horizontally depending on the color. Unlike F.L.U.D.D., Yoshi can also destroy the orange oozy graffiti.

If a Yoshi falls into water or runs out of juice (which depletes as time goes on and as the Yoshi sprays it), it will turn green and spit water instead of juice for a few seconds, before vanishing altogether.

New Super Mario Bros.
Yoshi, along with a red, a yellow and a blue Yoshi, appeared in some of the minigames in New Super Mario Bros.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Yellow, light blue, and pink Yoshis appear alongside the green Yoshi in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, where they aided Mario, Luigi and a pair of Toads save Princess Peach from Bowser. Red and blue Yoshis were originally going to appear in New Super Mario Bros. Wii, but they were replaced by the pink and light blue Yoshis for the final game.

In this game, the Yoshis can flutter jump and stomp enemies that Mario and the others couldn't normally defeat with jumps. Like in Super Mario World, the Yoshis main ability is how they can eat enemies, but they can't swallow shelled enemies at all, and the shells yield no special powers when held in the Yoshis' mouths. Instead, eating Venus Fire Trap allows the Yoshi to spit a fireball afterwards, and they can also fire ice balls and hammers right back at the enemies that threw them. Eating five berries and leaf-covered Pokeys causes Yoshis to lay eggs that hatch into useful items for the Mario Bros. and the Toads. When harmed, the Yoshi throws off its rider and runs around in a panic until someone jumps back on its saddle. Yoshis first appear in level 1-3.

New Super Mario Bros. U
Yoshis will appear as ridable, but only in green, in the upcoming game New Super Mario Bros. U and they behave like its prequel. Baby Yoshis also appear in blue that spit bubbles that trapes enemies turning them into coins, magenta that can inflate into a balloon and hover, and yellow that can flash the dark, and it can make the light bigger and stun enemies. A new red meter appears when Yoshi eats Berries, which shows how many berries Yoshi is eating.

Super Mario Adventures
In Nintendo Power's Super Mario Adventures comics, which is losely based on the Super Mario World video game, Bowser kidnaps various Yoshis from the Yoshi Village and their leader, Yoshi himself, has to team up with Mario and Luigi to save them and Princess Peach. Eventually they are able to free the Yoshis and have them stampede the wedding between Bowser and the brainwashed Peach, thus rescuing the princess. Bowser tries to hide in the giant wedding cake, but Mario has the Yoshis eat it, thus uncovering him and forcing him to accept defeat and leave Dinosaur Land.

Incidentally, their language was shown to consist of nothing but the word "Yoshi" in this depiction of Yoshi and his species, making it unintelligible to Mario and Luigi.

Club Nintendo
Yoshi appeared in various issues of the Nintendo-based German Club Nintendo comics. Other Yoshis also appeared in a few issues:


 * Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland: In this comic, Mario meets a Yoshi who wants darker skin, and is eventually turned into a black Yoshi by the Crab wizard.
 * Super Mario: Verloren in der Zeit: Mario gets sent back to the Stone Age in this 16-page comic, where he encounters a Yoshi as well as dinosaurs and cave men. The Yoshi was wearing a hat reading "taxi" and offered his services to Mario, but he declined.
 * Auf der Suche nach dem Glück!: In this comic, Kamek sucks all of the color out of Yoshi's Island. But out of six gray Yoshi eggs hatches six colorful baby Yoshis. The Yoshis soon see that something is wrong with the world around them when a colorful Lakitu flies over to them and tells them the predicament that they're in. The Yoshis then go to town and start eating all of the fruit in the market. After their feast, the color starts returning. They are soon on a talk show that Baby Bowser is watching which makes Baby Bowser furious. So he and Kamek go out to find the Yoshis. Meanwhile the Yoshi finish the talk show and start a band concert about fruit. Baby Bowser and Kamek soon interrupt their concert and trap them in a force field. The people in the stands then start throwing fruit at the Yoshis, which the Yoshis eat and use to break out of the force field. Baby Bowser and Kamek attempt to fly away, but Baby Bowser falls off and lands in a cannon. A clown then blasts the cannon and shoots Baby Bowser into the sky, ending the comic.
 * Die Nacht der leuchtenden Yoshis!: This comic is the second part of the comic above. The Yoshis are at the beach and having a great time when a shark appears in the water. Everyone flees for their lives except a green and yellow Yoshi who are still swimming. When they notice the shark they panic and try to swim away, but end up needing to be saved by a lifeguard. After they are all out of the water, it turns out to be a black Yoshi. When the Yoshis see him they think he has dirt all over him because they have never seen a black Yoshi before. So thinking they're cleaning him, they wash him. He turns out still black when he tells them this is his skin. They all reject and leave him and he stands in the same spot until night falls. the Yoshis then camp out as soon as night falls. Meanwhile, hiding in a bush, Baby Bowser and Kamek plan the Yoshis' capture, waiting until their prey are asleep before raiding the campsite with an army of Shy Guys. Then, out of nowhere, both Kamek and Baby Bowser are struck by Yoshi Eggs. They then get angry and ask who did that, only to have dozens and dozens of eggs rain down and chase them away. It turns out that the black Yoshi is the one who threw the eggs. He then unties the Yoshis and tells them his story. It turns out that he is the same Yoshi from Super Mario: Mario im Wunderland who was turned black by the wizard. It turns out that after he was turned black life got harder: he wasn't allowed into movies, he was yelled at, and he was chased by a chef who wanted to make a meatball out of him. The Yoshis finally accept the black Yoshi as a friend, and they all have a good rest of the night.
 * Das Lied der Yoshi's!: This short 1-page comic is the third part of the above comics. It pictures the Yoshis continuing their life and doing many different things. The last part of the comic shows all of the Yoshis singing together.

Yoshi
In the eponymous first game of the Yoshi series, Mario has to arrange egg halves and enemies to produce Small, Tall, Winged, and Star Yoshis. To get a Small Yoshi, Mario must combine two halves of a Yoshi egg. To get a Tall Yoshi, Mario must have one to four enemies in between the two halves of an egg. To get a Winged Yoshi, Mario must have five or six enemies in between the two halves of an egg. To get a Star Yoshi, Mario must have seven enemies in between the two halves of an egg. If a Small Yoshi hatches, 50 points are awarded. If a Tall Yoshi hatches, 100-250 points are awarded. If a Winged Yoshi hatches, 300-350 points are awarded. If a Star Yoshi hatches, 500 points are awarded.

Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island is set long before Super Mario World and tells the story of Mario and Luigi's first days of life. Baby Bowser's caretaker Kamek had predicted that the two babies born that morning spelled disaster for the Koopas and attempted to kidnap them before the Stork could deliver them to their parents. However, he only manages to snag Baby Luigi, while Baby Mario falls to Yoshi's Island and lands unscathed on Yoshi's back.

The infant causes some brief panic amongst the Yoshi community, until Yoshi takes charge and decides to help reunite Mario and Luigi and send them to their parents. The other Yoshis agree to help him transport Baby Mario across Yoshi's Island to Bowser's Castle through use of a relay system. Each Yoshi carries the baby for one level in each world, before passing him on to the next Yoshi in line. To defend him against Kamek's forces and the hostile wildlife of the island, the Yoshis eat enemies, turning them into eggs which they can then throw at other enemies and obstacles. The Yoshis can also transform themselves into various vehicles through the use of Morph Bubbles, which helps them progress through the island. Eventually, Yoshi defeats Baby Bowser and forced Kamek to retreat, allowing him to rescue Baby Luigi and the Stork. The Yoshis then send them on their way to Mario and Luigi's parents.

Tetris Attack
In Tetris Attack, Bowser curses Yoshi's friends, including a baby Yoshi, forcing the green dinosaur to set things right once more. Yoshis of various colours also appear in the title screen.

Yoshi's Story
Baby Bowser was not happy with the loss he suffered during Yoshi's Island and takes his revenge during the events of Yoshi's Story. Baby Bowser and his forces return to Yoshi's Island and steal the Super Happy Tree, the source of the island's happiness. The young Koopa then casts a spell on the island, transforming the vacation paradise into a storybook. He then incapacitates the Yoshis with a curse, so that they cannot stop him.

Fortunately, Baby Bowser's spell did not affect six baby Yoshis who still in their eggs. When they hatch, the six newborns sense that the island was in disarray. Taking the lead, a new Green Yoshi decides the babies must find the Super Happy Tree to refill the island with happiness. The five other baby Yoshis agree and together they set out to find the tree and restore peace to the island.

The Yoshis travel across the island, eating fruits to boost their own happiness levels. Green Yoshi personally enjoys watermelons the most. As their collective happiness increases, more and more worlds become available to the Yoshis. Eventually, Green Yoshi and his companions reach Baby Bowser's Castle. Together they defeat the young king and reclaim the Super Happy Tree, restoring the island to its natural, peaceful and joyful state.

Yoshi Topsy-Turvy
In Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (also known as Yoshi's Universal Gravitation) Yoshi's Island has once again been turned into a storybook, but this time, a spirit named Hongo is responsible. He did this to contain Bowser's trouble-making, but agrees that if Yoshi can subdue Bowser, he will restore the island.

Yoshi Touch & Go
In Yoshi Touch & Go, the Yoshis have to transport Baby Mario to the Stork after Kamek kidnapped Baby Luigi and caused the bird to drop Mario. The colour of the Yoshi varies depending on how many coins the player collected while guiding baby Mario down to the ground. No further plot or background story is revealed.

Yoshi's Island DS
In Yoshi's Island DS, Bowser and Kamek travel back in time to kidnap seven Star Children in order to use the energy within their bodies to let Bowser take over the world. Since they don't know the identity of the children, they endeavor to kidnap every single infant in the Mushroom World, but one way or another, their quarry escapes their clutches. Only one child, a baby Yoshi, is not involved at all (although it is possible that the baby is Yoshi himself, who is now grown up); Baby Luigi is successfully captured, but manages to avoid detection for the duration of his imprisonment, and all the other children escape or are cast out by the villains, and help the Yoshis save the rest of the babies.

The gameplay is similar to the original Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, although different babies have skills that help the Yoshis. With Baby Mario, Yoshis can dash around quickly and their eggs bounce off walls. With Baby Peach, they can flutter higher and catch winds with her parasol. Baby Donkey Kong can climb vines, carrying his Yoshi steed with him, and eggs thrown while he is present create small explosions when they hit. Baby Wario can collect coins and move metal objects with his magnet and Yoshis' eggs bounce. Finally, while Baby Bowser's weight means the Yoshi carrying him cannot eat enemies and make eggs, his fireballs can be used to defeat enemies and clear obstacles. A Yoshi can exchange the baby it is carrying for a different baby by visiting a Stork Stop, where the bird will bring in the new child and depart with the original one. Not all babies are available in all areas, however.

In the final battle, Yoshi and three others fight Bowser, carrying babies Mario, Peach, DK and Wario (Baby Bowser turned traitor when they reached Bowser's Castle). After their defeat, the Koopas return to the future and the babies are brought home by the Storks.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Mario and his partners visit Yo'ster Island, where Yoshis race each other for sport in a competition known as the Mushroom Derby. Unfortunately, the last winner of the derby was an arrogant Yoshi named Boshi who proceeded to name himself leader of Yo'ster Island and suspend the races. Instead, only one-on-one races between himself and slower Yoshis were allowed, with Yoshi Cookies as the prize. When Mario arrives, he helps Yoshi defeat Boshi in a race, prompting the people to try and appoint Yoshi as their new leader. Yoshi declines the offer, however, and instead has the Mushroom Derby re-opened to everyone, with no one Yoshi in charge.

During the game, Yoshi also serves as a translator between Mario and the Yoshis, who speak their own language.

Super Smash Bros. series
Yoshi appears as a playable character in all the Super Smash Bros. series titles, in which he has various alternate colors, in addition to the basic green: red, blue, yellow, pink, and light blue. Some stages and events involve fighting multiple Yoshis. In Super Smash Bros., only four of the six Yoshi colors were playable; green, red, light blue, and yellow. All six Yoshi colors were used in the computer-controlled Yoshi team battled during the 1-Player mode, and they all became playable in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Paper Mario
Mario and his partners visit a Yoshi Village on Lavalava Island during the events of Paper Mario. They were there looking for a Star Spirit that Bowser had trapped in a playing card and given to a minion to guard within the island's volcano, but they find they can't get into the mountain on their own. The Yoshi Village Leader says he'll help Mario and the others if they help round up five missing Yoshi Kids. With the help of their Cheep-Cheep babysitter, Sushie, Mario and co. soon find the young Yoshis and can continue on with their quest.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
When Mario and his current set of partners visit Glitzville in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, they soon find themselves with custody of a Yoshi egg, after its initial owner, a hotdog vendor, decided against cooking and serving it once he realized it could move on its own accord. For a while, the egg follows Mario and his partners. Then, after the match with the Armored Harriers, Mario returns to find that the egg had hatched into a baby Yoshi, the colour of whom varies depending on how much time had passed between Mario's acquisition of the egg and its hatching. Mario names the Yoshi, who then travels with him and the other partners for the remainder of the game, before becoming a fighter at the Glitz Pit after the quest is over.

One of the Yoshi's attacks involves summoning a stampede of green Yoshis to trample the enemy, and another green Yoshi businessman can be found on the Excess Express.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
This game shows that Yoshis also live in the Beanbean Kingdom. They are found at Yoshi Theater and Mario and Luigi must find Bean Fruit for seven hungry Yoshis to earn Neon Eggs and ultimately a Beanstar piece. They can be seen in the credits in Yoshi Theater watching the events of this game as well.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the invading aliens known as the Shroobs deposit what appears to be a giant Yoshi Egg on Yoshi's Island. It swiftly becomes a tourist attraction, but eventually hatches into a monster known as Yoob, which proceeds to eat every Yoshi it can catch. A factory in its belly then encases the eaten Yoshis in Yoob Eggs, so that they will also hatch as monsters and help wreak havoc on the world. Fortunately, the plan is foiled by Yoshi, aided by Baby Mario, Baby Luigi and the adult Mario and Luigi, who had both traveled back in time to save Peach and stop the aliens. Yoshi discovers a way to escape through Yoob's digestive tract and the four Mario Bros. liberate the captured and imprisoned Yoshis to help him. They also defeat the guardian of the factory, Sunnycide, and once the Yoshis escape and the factory is destroyed, Yoob falls asleep.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Yoshi noises were seen in the code of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story but unused. It is unknown if Yoshis themselves were going to appear in the game or it was left over from Partners in Time (as the game's engine was based off this game's). During one of the Fawful Guys' attacks, a roar very similar to Yoob's can heard. In the attack, a long tongue (presumably belonging to a Fawfulized Yoshi) turns them into an egg and spits them out. This is a reference to Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games
In Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games, Yoshis serve as the main objective in Dream Equestrian, where players must race to the finish line, carrying a wagon full of seven color Yoshi eggs. The eggs will hatch into Yoshis upon reaching the goal. These Yoshi's are reappearing on Mario Tennis Open, and the player has to scan it with their QR code.

Other Appearances and References
The character Yoshi appears in many Mario games, including Yoshi's Safari, Super Mario 64, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and all the Mario Party, Mario Kart and Mario sports games. Other Yoshis have occasionally appeared in these games, including a pair in Mario Party, and aforementioned Yoshis in Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Yoshi's Rolling Egg Return Defensive Power Shot in Mario Power Tennis also has him changing to various different colours, although it it still the same, solitary character.

In the Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4 adaptations of Super Mario Bros. 3, the king in the castle of World seven is transformed into a green Yoshi by Ludwig von Koopa (whereas in the NES version of the game, predating Yoshis, the king was transformed into a Piranha Plant).

In Super Mario Chess, Yoshis appear as knights on Mario's team.

In addition, many Yoshi-themed Mario Kart racecourses have appeared: Mario Kart 64 has Yoshi Valley, Mario Kart: Super Circuit has Yoshi Desert, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! has Yoshi Circuit, Mario Kart DS has Yoshi Falls and reuses Yoshi Circuit, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 has a two-course Yoshi stage, and while it doesn't introduce a new course, Mario Kart Wii reuses Yoshi Falls from the DS title.

Although Yoshis don't appear in Super Paper Mario, a stone statue of one appears in Chapter 5: Land of the Cragnons. There is also a Sammer Guy called "Belly of the Yoshi" which may also be a reference to Yoob or how Yoshis can eat any amount of food without getting full. Yoshis were also referenced in Super Mario Galaxy by a planet shaped like a Yoshi Egg in the Good Egg Galaxy and by a planet shaped like a Yoshi head in the Space Junk Galaxy.

Physical Appearance
Yoshis were initially portrayed with long necks and small hands, although their design has since changed to make them more anthropogenic, with upright postures, shorter necks and grasping, human-like hands. Additionally, Yoshis were originally conceived of as a type of Koopa, with the saddles on their backs being their shells.

A Yoshi's physical appearance changes depending how old they are. For example, in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the Yoshi appears much smaller compared to other Yoshi. He also has hair, while most other Yoshis do not, though this is most likely to differentiate the character as playable. Newly-hatched baby Yoshis featured in Super Mario World (among other games) are both smaller and also proportioned differently than the adults, with short, stubby bodies lacking in saddles, almost no neck, and a slightly down-curved snout. After eating enough enemies, food or Power-Ups, these baby Yoshis will undergo a rapid growth spurt and look like adults from that point onward.

Coloration
Yoshi come in a variety of colors, including black and white. In Super Mario Sunshine they can even change skin color by eating different fruit, while their colors are determined by hatching time in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Shoes' color is also usually in conjunction with skin color: a green Yoshi has red shoes, a red Yoshi has blue shoes, etc. This shoe color denomination was not set up until Yoshi's Story.

In Super Mario World, Yoshi had abilities depending on their color and Koopa Shells. If a blue Yoshi licks up a Koopa Shell, it could temporarily grow wings until it is swallowed or spit out. If a red Yoshi licks up a Koopa Shell, it could spit it back out as a trio of fireballs. If a yellow Yoshi licks up a shell, it can cause Ground Pounds for as long as it held the shell in its mouth. Shells of the corresponding colours would also create those effects in a Yoshi of any colour.

This is all the (known) colors for a Yoshi and the first appearance of said color of Yoshi:
 * Green Yoshi – Super Mario World
 * Red Yoshi – Super Mario World
 * Yellow Yoshi – Super Mario World
 * Blue Yoshi – Super Mario World
 * Pink Yoshi – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Light Blue Yoshi – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Purple Yoshi – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Brown Yoshi – Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island
 * Black Yoshi – Yoshi's Story
 * White Yoshi – Yoshi's Story
 * Orange Yoshi – Super Mario Sunshine

Biology
Yoshis have large snouts giving them excellent olfactory abilities, which they can use to sniff out fruit or other secrets that could be buried underground.

Most games show that Yoshis can swim without difficulty, however in Super Mario Sunshine, Yoshis that live on or around Isle Delfino are unable to come into contact with any body of water, which makes them turn green and disappear.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, it's confirmed that Yoshis tend to travel in very large herds; consisting of thousands. They can also create stampedes that are similar to that of the real world animal, the Wildebeest.

As discussed earlier, in Super Mario World, when carrying a yellow Koopa Shell in their mouths (or any shell if the Yoshi itself is yellow), the Yoshi becomes heavy and shakes the ground each time it lands after a jump or fall. Yoshis were also one of the first creatures shown performing proper Ground Pound attacks - a move in which the performer jumps into the air, flips and then slams into the ground. Yoshis first performed the move in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Yoshi uses "Ground Pound" in the Super Smash Bros. series as a special attack. Bowser was shown doing the equivalent of a Ground Pound in Super Mario Bros. 3 (before the debut of Yoshis), and in games since then. Other characters have also been shown Ground Pounding, including Mario himself in titles such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and various entries in the Mario Party franchise.

Yoshi are especially known for their long, adhesive tongues that cling to most enemies, allowing a Yoshi to swallow it whole, although they do have teeth which which they could bite and chew their food, if they so choose. They can either swallow whatever they eat, or encase it in an egg. The eggs can then be used as projectile weapons to defeat other enemies and bosses, while other eggs hatch into useful items like 1-Up Mushrooms. Yoshis also presumably have strong and efficient digestive systems, which digest live enemies very quickly, although in Super Mario World it would take a few minutes for a Yoshi to be able to swallow a Koopa Shell, and as discussed in the previous section, the shell grants the Yoshi special abilities in the meantime.

Gender
Despite being one of the most central species in the Mario series, very little solid information has been provided on the unique reproductive biology of the Yoshis.

The in-game Japanese text of Yoshi's Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee states that Yoshis reproduce asexually, meaning that they reproduce without a mate and are neither male nor female. This is supported by the fact that in the Chef minigame in Game & Watch Galleries 2 and 4, after being fed long enough, the Yoshi produces an egg that eventually hatches into another Yoshi. The baby then takes its parent's place and proceeds to eat enough food to turn into an adult, eventually producing a fertile egg of its own, which then continues the cycle. This could be explained by parthenogenesis, which is when females of certain species have the ability to asexually produce offspring without the need of a male, however no official material has specifically named pathenogenesis as the asexual method that Yoshis use to reproduce.

Other sources have also contradicted the asexual depiction of Yoshis. At least one of the Yoshis in Paper Mario refers to his "son", and in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the Yoshi who sometimes appears on-board the Excess Express expresses his hatred of business trips due to them keeping him away from his "lovely wife". The original Mario Party also features a pair of Yoshis which appear to be one male and one female, although the exact nature of their relationship was not revealed. Additionally, while Japanese language rarely involves gender-specific pronouns, the character Yoshi is consistently referred to with masculine pronouns in translation, yet laying eggs is one of his trademarks. This apparent contradiction was addressed in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where Snake assumes that Yoshi is a female because of his egg-laying abilities, only to be corrected by Otacon (both of whom use "it" rather than "he" or "she" when referencing Yoshi). Since Yoshi's eggs have never been shown to hatch, it is possible that there are both males and females that lay eggs, but only the females' eggs have the ability to develop and hatch into a baby Yoshi, with or without the involvement of a male breeding partner.

Diet
Though omnivorous, Yoshi eat mostly fruit, and in Yoshi's Story, they become happy when eating fruit of their own skin color. Melons are their favorite fruit regardless of skin color. Very few Yoshis, such as black and white Yoshi, could digest Peppers without hurting themselves. However, in Super Mario Galaxy 2, the playable green Yoshi can eat the Dash Pepper, turning him red-orange, and causing him to run very fast for a short amount of time. All Yoshis can eat enemies of various kinds, from large Koopas to plants. Also, if they eat a Bean Fruit, then they will lay a rare Neon Egg, the color of which depends on the Yoshi's own skin color.

Speech
Yoshi are capable of speaking human language, as proven by Yoshi in Super Mario World and Super Mario 64, as well as various other Yoshi in games like Yoshi's Story, Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Super Mario Galaxy 2 (featuring the main Yoshi) and others. However, it has been suggested that Yoshi speaking human language is rare, as the main Yoshi must translate for Mario in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and Mario Super Sluggers.

In older games (and in more recent ones, such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii), the voice of different Yoshi were a sound created by a backwards record scratching (in Super Mario World only the one green Yoshi spoke with a text bubble, though this was changed in the Super Mario Advance 2 version). In Yoshi's Story, the Yoshi are voiced by Nintendo musician Kazumi Totaka, who mutters the word "Yoshi" and unintelligible words (such as "gong" and "hup"); it is also worth noting that his voice was sped up to create the squeaky, childish voice of the Yoshi in this game.

Oddly, in the Mario & Luigi series, Yoshi still speaks with Super Mario RPG-style translation parenthesis.

As a final note on language, the Super Mario Adventures comic joked that, much as would be repeated years later with Yoshi's Story, Yoshi could only speak the word "Yoshi" with various marks of punctuation.

Online Collectible Card Bio
''While not the strongest pitcher, Yoshi's Egg Swing and Tongue Catch help round him out as a team captain. And it may sound strange, but he plays best when surrounded by a lineup of babies.''

Notable Yoshis

 * Yoshi (AKA Green Yoshi) – ''Super Mario World
 * Yoshi (a.k.a. Yoshi Kid) – ''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
 * Boshi – ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
 * Little Yoshi – ''Tetris Attack
 * Village Leader – ''Paper Mario
 * Yoob – ''Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Groups

 * Fearsome 5 – ''Paper Mario