Yoda, the Jedi Grand Master, remains one of the most mysterious characters of the Star Wars franchise, even 38 years after his first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back. The former Jedi Grand Master may not be as popular as characters like Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker, but he is still one of the most iconic members of the franchise.

Over the years, Star Wars fans have learned more about this ancient hero, largely due to his appearances in the Star Wars prequels, The Clone Wars, and some of the canon (and even non-canon) novels and comic series. Ever since the debut of Yoda in 1980, George Lucas has made it clear that he wants parts of Yoda's past to remain a secret, simply in order to keep his character interesting. Seemingly, this has worked, as almost four decades later, many fans are still trying to figure out more about this mysterious hero's past.

One of the most unique aspects about Yoda that truly makes him stand out from most other members of the Jedi Order is his body. Not only is his skin a bright green, but he's also significantly shorter than most other characters in the series. He's also noticeably quite older than any other creature in the franchise.

Surprisingly, Yoda isn't even the only member of his species in the Star Wars saga, which helps to give us even more information about Yoda's physique and how he compares to the rest of his race.

With all of this in mind, here are the 20 Crazy Details About Yoda's Anatomy In Star Wars.

His Species Is Unknown

Star Wars Episode I Master Yaddle on the Jedi Council

When Yoda was first created, George Lucas did not want to give Yoda's species a name in order to help keep mystery about Yoda and his species. Even after more characters of Yoda's species were introduced, like the Jedi Order member Yaddle, the name of the species is still kept a mystery, and is commonly referred to now as just "Yoda's species." For a period of time, a number of Star Wars fans theorized that Yoda's species were the legendary Whills, which had a deep history with the Force. However, George Lucas eventually denied this theory, much to the disappointment of fans.

Over the years, numerous fans have tried to get the name of Yoda's species out of Lucas, but he never budged.

At times, he would joke that Yoda was "a frog," and once claimed that Yoda was "the illegitimate child of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy."

 He's One Of The Few Jedi Who Could Fight While Wearing Still Wearing A Robe

Star Wars Yoda CGI Frank OZ

One of the coolest and most dramatic effects in the Star Wars franchise is when a Jedi theatrically takes off their robe before a fight. Not only does it look cool on camera, but it understandably helps their fighting ability, as the extra clothing can restrict their movement.

Yoda is one of the only Jedi in the Star Wars franchise to not add this bit of theatrical flare before a fight. Instead, Yoda keeps his robe on in fights, as it seemingly does not restrict his body movement at all. The only time that Yoda's robe ever came off in a fight was in his duel against Darth Sidious in Revenge of the Sith. However, he did not mean to take the robe off. Instead, it just slipped off of him after he was pushed backwards.

 His Ears Express His Emotions

Not only are Yoda's ears abnormally large for such a small character, but they actually have a direct connection with his emotions, helping express his feelings. Based on however Yoda is feeling at a certain moment, his ears will curl or unfurl. This started as an impressive and clever puppeteering technique that continued on, in improved quality, when Yoda became CGI in Attack of the Clones.

His ears don't just move when he is feeling a certain way, though. Often, when he is focusing heavily on the Force, his ears will bend down and even start to lightly shake. This was first evident when Yoda pulled Luke's X-Wing out of the swamp in The Empire Strikes Back. This focus on his ear movement has continued ever since.

He Has An Evil Force Twin

Yoda Evil Force Twin

In one of the creepier episodes of The Clone Wars, it was revealed that Yoda actually had a (sort of) Force twin. This occurred in the episode "Destiny", one of the final episodes of season six, in which Yoda travels to an unnamed planet that contains the "Wellspring of Life," which is said to be where the Force's midi-chlorians are made. While on this planet, Yoda was confronted by a mysterious being that spoke just like Yoda.

It ended up being the Dark Side half of Yoda, who looked a bit like him, yet was made of dark smog.

Yoda had a brief duel with his Dark Side twin, which he undoubtedly won. However, it was still a creepy fight sequence that hinted that Yoda once experimented with the Dark Side at some point in his past.

He Could Keep His Body In The Afterlife

Force Ghosts Anakin Yoda Obi-Wan

Yoda was the first living Jedi to begin training to become a Force Ghost after the ability was revealed to him by Qui-Gon Jinn. However, unlike Qui-Gon, Yoda was able to keep his physical appearance following his passing.

Following Yoda's passing, the Jedi Grand Master was able to return to the living world physically, both at the end of Return of the Jedi and in The Last Jedi. His deep connection and training with the Force during his final years on Dagobah were what allowed him to be able to do this. This is actually the reason why Yoda's body disappeared when he passed away, unlike the Jedi in the prequels, whose bodies remained after they were defeated. Obi-Wan also had this ability.

His Blood Is Light Green

Star Wars CGI Yoda

Yoda's skin and eyes aren't the only parts of his body that have a light green tint. Yoda's own blood is also light green, carrying on the light green color scheme that is so heavily associated with his character. Frankly, the decision by Lucasfilm to make Yoda's blood light green may be a bit too on-the-nose. First it was revealed that his lightsaber was light green, and now his blood too? Fortunately, his robes are tan and brown and not green as well, as that definitely would have been too much.

No scientific explanation has been given as to why Yoda and the rest of his species have green blood; it's merely a fact that is part of the Star Wars lore.

 He Has Three-Fingered, Clawed Hands

Yoda The Force Star Wars

Unlike most other species in the Star Wars universe, Yoda and the rest of his species actually have tridactyl hands, which means that he has a total of three fingers on each hand. These fingers have large claws on them, which presumably would help with their grip, particularly with food and other creatures.

This is unique for Star Wars species, as even the least humanoid species, like the Gungans, still have at least four fingers, making Yoda's small number of fingers an outlier in comparison.

Realistically, this would make it quite difficult for Yoda to properly wield a lightsaber. However, as the prequels proved, Yoda was still proficient with a sword, despite only having three fingers to grip the weapon.

His Number Of Toes Vary From Movie To Movie

Yoda with feet visible in Star Wars prequels

In addition to having tridactyl hands, Yoda and the rest of his species have been described as having tridactyl feet, meaning that each of their feet only has three toes. While this description is consistently true for his hands, the appearance of his feet vary across the franchise.

In The Phantom Menace, Yoda's feet have three toes, matching the same number as his fingers. However, in Revenge of the Sith, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, the brief appearances of Yoda's feet reveal that he has four toes, which is quite strange. To make things even stranger, the promotional images of Yoda for Revenge of the Sith showed him with three toes, which differed from the movie itself. The action figures of Yoda have been even more inconsistent. A number of Hasbro toys have featured Yoda with three, four, and even five toes, making the situation even more confusing.

All Of His Species Were Remarkably Force-Sensitive

Yoda Force Shockwave

Yoda's incredible Force abilities weren't just the luck of the draw like Rey's or most other Jedi. Instead, his Force skills were genetic, as all of the members of his unknown species have been said to be incredibly Force sensitive. Back when the population of Yoda's species was larger, they were a truly feared force, particularly by Dark Side-wielders. However, during the time of the Star Wars franchise, most of his species had diminished, with Yoda being one of the few known living members of his kind.

Yoda notably isn't the only one of his species to seek to join the Jedi Council during the Star Wars series. The Jedi Yaddle, who is the same species as Yoda, is seen to be part of the Council in The Phantom Menace. Though we never saw Yaddle in battle, many people assume that she is on the same power level as Yoda.

 He Could Tell If Someone Used The Dark Or Light Side By Touching Them

Yoda leading the Jedi Council

As part of Yoda's intense Force sensitivity, he was incredibly skilled at being able to identify someone's position with the Force simply by touching them. As one could imagine, this would help him identify if a Force-wielder is an ally or an enemy.

It's been shown that Yoda is able to sense how other Force wielders are feeling at certain moments, so it's presumed that he could get a glimpse of a person's chosen side of the Force simply by standing near them.

However, simply standing next to a person isn't always incredibly accurate, as Force users can sometimes hide their Force presence to other Force users around them. By touching that person, though, Yoda can confirm their alliance with the Force in order to make a true judgement.

 He's Just Over Two Feet Tall

It's no secret that Yoda is incredibly short, but seeing his actual height as a number helps to give us a better understanding of how small this Jedi Master actually is. His exact height is .66 meters, or 2.17 feet, which is incredibly small compared to the rest of the Jedi, who range anywhere from 5 to 7 feet in height.

He's not just small compared to the rest of the Jedi, however. The average height of his entire species is said to be .7 meters, or 2.3 feet, making him even a couple inches shorter than the rest of his kind. Yoda isn't just small in height; he's also incredibly lightweight, only weighing 13 kilograms, or 29 pounds, which is honestly pretty light, even for a person who is just over 2 feet tall.

 His Height Helped His Dueling Abilities

Count Dooku fights Yoda

At first, one would think that Yoda's height would hurt his ability to fight in a lightsaber duel, considering that he realistically can't reach more than his opponent's legs and lower waist. However, as shown in Attack of the Clones, Yoda has taken this disadvantage and turned it into a fantastic advantage in a head-to-head fight.

Rather than simply standing or moving on his feet like most Jedi do in a duel, Yoda uses his small size to leap around his opponent, which would understandably confuse the person he is fighting, as they will have to keep turning around in order to face the Jedi Master. During his fights against Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, Yoda took the advantage in the fights by using his lightsaber skills, though he noticeably did not have the advantage when the duels turned to using the Force.

 He Was Not As Strong As Darth Sidious

Though Yoda was argued to be the strongest member of the Jedi Order, at least during the Clone Wars era, he was noticeably not as powerful as the strongest member of the Sith. This was apparent during the duel between Yoda and Darth Sidious / Emperor Palpatine during the final act of Revenge of the Sith.

Throughout the fight, Yoda proved himself to be stronger in a lightsaber duel, as his flipping through the air technique was particularly useful against Sidious's aged body, which had just been severely burned shortly before.

However, Yoda lost the advantage when the fight came to displaying Force abilities, after his lightsaber was dropped. Though Yoda is certainly proficient with the Force, his abilities noticeably did not match those of Sidious's, leading to Yoda nearly losing his life that day.

 He Befriended The Creatures On Dagobah

Yoda Lifts Luke's X-Wing out of the swamp in Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

During his extended stay on Dagobah, Yoda ended up living alongside a number of fearsome, mysterious swamp creatures. These ranged from winged beasts to giant monsters that dwelled in the waters, such as the one that swallowed and spat out R2-D2 in The Empire Strikes Back.

Though these creatures were seemingly not as advanced as most characters in the Star Wars franchise, as they couldn't even speak, Yoda still seemed to find a way to bond with them during the course of his stay. Following the passing of Yoda in Return of the Jedi, the creatures of Dagobah were said to have taken Yoda's hut and food, which he apparently gave to them as a sort of inheritance.

 He Can Deflect Force Lightning With His Bare Hands

Yoda Force Lightning Deflect

During the fight between Yoda and Darth Sidious at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Yoda displayed a truly remarkable Force ability that no other Jedi has ever displayed in a movie. Using his bare hands, Yoda was able to deflect Sidious's Force lightning, and even built up the power between his palms in order to send it back at Sidious.

Earlier in the movie, Mace Windu was not able to deflect the Force lightning with his hands. Instead, he had to use his lightsaber to push the lightning back, which wasn't even entirely effective, as some of the lightning still bounced off of the lightsaber across his face. The fact that Yoda was able to deflect this Dark Side Force ability really shows just how powerful he truly is. He also demonstrated this ability in his fight against Count Dooku at the end of Attack of the Clones, but from a greater distance.

 His Species Is Primarily Carnivorous

Though we rarely see Yoda ever eating in any of the movies or show, it has been concluded that his species is primarily carnivorous, with their diet consisting only of meat. Despite being green, Yoda and the rest of his kind really didn't want to eat their greens.

The carnivorous habits of Yoda's species was concluded by some of their physical features.

The most distinct feature that hint of their diet is their incredibly sharp teeth. Their teeth are comparable to those of sharks. They may be small, but they are all very sharp and can presumably pierce through skin with ease. Their large claws also give a hint to their diet, as they seem sharp enough to pierce through prey with a firm, painful grip.

He's A Skilled Pilot

Yoda is never shown actually flying a ship in any of the Star Wars movies, but the series The Clone Wars and even some of the Star Wars books have shown that Yoda is actually a rather skilled pilot, being arguably just as skilled at flying a ship as Anakin Skywalker.

During the Clone Wars, Yoda had his own Jedi fighter, similar to those of Anakin and Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith, except Yoda's was painted green. Though he prefers to not fly, having his troopers fly for him instead, he has shown incredible proficiency when he has to step into the cockpit. Every time Yoda has taken the helm of a ship, there has never been a reported instance where the ship was damaged, even when being confronted by enemies. Not even Anakin has a track record like that.

 He Didn't Really Need His Cane

Yoda Battle Meditation

Yoda is almost always shown carrying a cane with him when he walks, which most people assumed was essential for his movement. However, as shown in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Yoda can move with ease without the cane, being able to do perfect triple flips through the air. More than likely, Yoda's cane is just a comfort thing. He uses it as a literal crutch, even though he doesn't physically need the cane in order to get around.

In The Empire Strikes Back, which was a couple decades after the Clone Wars, it's rather likely that Yoda did need the cane to get around, as he had aged quite a bit more. However, it wouldn't have been too surprising to have seen Yoda drop the cane and suddenly parkour his way through the swamp.

 He's The Only Force Ghost Shown To Have A Physical Effect On The World

Yoda force ghost

Not only does Yoda's Force Ghost have his physical appearance, but he actually is the only Force Ghost shown to have a physical effect on the rest of the world, as seen in The Last Jedi. Force Ghosts like Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan's have had an effect on the world, with Obi-Wan sending his voice to Luke on numerous occasions, and Qui-Gon being able to Force-lift Yoda into the air. However, Yoda has shown abilities like these (such as bringing down a bolt of lightning) and more.

In Yoda's brief appearance in The Last Jedi, Yoda whacked Luke with his cane, which noticeably affected Luke.

This proved that Yoda's Force Ghost doesn't just send Force power into the real world, and instead is actually a physical being in the universe.

 His Species Have An Average Life Span Lasting Several Centuries

Yoda reacting to Great Jedi Purge Order 66 in Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

The exact average lifespan of Yoda's species is actually unknown, considering that most of them were extinct before the events of the Star Wars saga. However, based on the stories of his species, and what we have seen from the characters alive during the saga, the species' average lifespan is several centuries long.

Yoda himself lived for exactly 900 years before he passed away in Return of the Jedi. However, this is the oldest recorded lifespan of a creature of his species, leading many to believe that Yoda outlived the average lifespan by many years. This lifespan really shows how evolved Yoda's body is. Unlike most other species' bodies in the Star Wars universe, Yoda's is structured to survive for almost a millennium, which is truly remarkable.

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Are there any other interesting facts about Yoda's body in Star Wars that we forgot to mention? Let us know in the comments!