Everyone proclaims Yoshi to be a dinosaur. Ask the typical Mario gamer what Yoshi is, and you’ll most likely be told ’a dinosaur.’ If you wish to be mean, or merely ignorant, you might decide to continue with the next logical question, ‘What kind of dinosaur?’ At this point, you may get a response ranging anywhere from an indifferent shrug to a frenzied heated and red-faced maniac. Let us then attempt to decipher what this dino is, and answer some basic questions that have been asked about it. In the Mario movie, he was depicted as a baby tyrannosaurus rex. This is immediately unfulfilling due to Yoshi’s lack of scales, his long, whipcord tongue, among a number of other anomalies. Indeed, no dinosaur known to science resembles Mario’s buddy. What, then, are the biological roots of this something-a-saurus? Well, due to his spring-like legs, webbed fingers, white belly, changing pigment of the race’s skin, long tongue, protruding eyes, and unique vocal noises, it might be a safe supposition to proclaim Yoshis as being, rather than a primitive being, a type of advanced frog. Due to their almost human intelligence, perhaps a fitting scientific name for this particular organism would be amphibio sapien, or, ‘intelligent frog.’
Do Yoshi have genders? It is reasonable to suppose that they do. Those who noted the lack of certain parts may be consoled by the thought that they may be hidden (or it could just be Shigeru censoring things a wee bit before bringing images to us...). In any case, such organs need not be overt. Indeed, in amphibians, it is common for the eggs to be fertilized after being laid by the female. Therefore, it is likely that this is the manner in which Yoshi reproduction takes place.
Next, there is the question of what Yoshis look like at birth. In Super Mario World, newly-hatched ones appeared to be extremely small, while in Yoshi’s Story, they are born somewhat larger. This would seem to indicate that, while a Yoshi may do much developing while in the egg, they may be capable of proper growth in the instance of premature hatching. Yoshi eggs would appear to be unstable, and may hatch early if there is a disturbance in the surrounding environment. When this happens, the undeveloped Yoshi may emerge in a state of intense hunger, which serves as a method of self-defense. This state is usually temporary, in that the premature Yoshi is programmed to complete it’s maturation period at a fantastic rate after consuming adequate nutrition. If the egg goes undisturbed for a long enough time, the Yoshi may hatch quite late in the maturation process. This is rare, though it seems to have no ill effects on the newborns. Indeed, such orphans may benefit from starting life with it’s full range of abilities.
Yoshis seem to have odd physiological capabilities. First noticeable is the presence of a saddle-like formation on it’s back, and shoe-like devices on their feet. No explanation has been offered for the shoes, save that they may be formed from residue which collects around the feet in the egg. These shoes would appear to be quite resilient, protecting the feet of the Yoshi from certain (though not all) sharp objects, and for this reason they may be called the Yoshi’s ‘Acchilles’ Feet.’ Over the years, it would appear that these inborn structures have gained considerable durability, compared to those used by Yoshis just a few generations back. This would indicate that Yoshis are as yet continuing their evolution process, and that future Yoshi generations may present even more differences than the current ones.
A Yoshi’s ‘saddle’ is actually a natural shell, useful for protecting the Yoshi’s otherwise fragile spine, and is present on it from late childhood. Premature Yoshis lack them entirely.
Self Defense: Yoshis are exceptionally gifted with many forms of self-defense. In addition to their long tongues, early Yoshis also have incredibly fast digestive systems, which are capable of deriving matrials which they can use to produce, at an astounding speed, empty, chemically unstable eggs which can be hurled by the Yoshi to ward off enemy attacks. Also, it is uncertain whether or not current generations utilize this ability, as it has not been seen recently. Yoshis can carry several eggs, whether empty or containing young, behind them via a clear, thin, but strong sticky membrane, the source of which is undetermined.
Yoshis also vary widely, even within families, in body pigment and coloring. This may either be genetic or affected by the conditions of the egg prior to hatching. It is interesting that body color would appear to be related to food preferences. Basically, a Yoshi will prefer food it’s own color.
Like many other primary races of the Mushroom World, Yoshis are credited with extraordinary, somewhat human intelligence from birth. Though not often shown, they seem to be capable of using tools and are skilled in basic carpentry, though their societies appear to be tribe-based, and therefore these skills may not often be used in comfortable environments. Yoshi language often comprises basic verbal noises incomprehensible to humans, though it would seem that babies are capable of parroting and learning other languages quite quickly. This is not surprising, as most of the creatures of the Mushroom World are unusually sentient.