Yoshi

Yoshi (Japanese ヨッシ), once romanized as Yossy, is a fictional anthropomorphic dinosaur created by graphic designer Shigefumi Hino that appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi belongs to the species of the same name, which is characterized by their variety of colors.

History
Yoshi debuted in Super Mario World (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi later starred in platform and puzzle games, including Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Story and Yoshi's Woolly World. Yoshi also appears in many of the Mario spin-off games, including Mario Party and Mario Kart, various Mario sports games, and Nintendo's crossover fighting game series Super Smash Bros..

Since his debut, Yoshi proved to be a hit with the fans due to his adorable nature and his usefulness as a power-up mount. Yoshi was originally a nonmorphic dinosaur, suited best for riding, but ever since Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, the character was designed to be more anthropomorphic as his role evolved into a playable character of his own.