Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs (Diplodocus as described in the corresponding comic strip) on the back cover of Scientific Progress Goes Boink.

Dinosaurs are recurring characters in Calvin and Hobbes. They are a running gag and plot device in Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin, like most boys his age, is fascinated by prehistory and paleontology, even conducting amateur fossil digs. Dinosaurs are subject matter for many of his fantasies, and sometimes appear as alter egos. Calvin pretends to be dinosaurs in many of his comics.

Note: For the purposes of this article – and in line with Calvin's knowledge – pterosaurs and other prehistoric reptiles will be considered dinosaurs.

List of dinosaurs featured in Calvin and Hobbes

• Allosaurus
• Apatosaurus
• Brachiosaurus
• Brontosaurus
• "Calvinosaurus"
• Calvin The Dinosaur (only mentioned in The Revenge Of The Baby-Sat)
• Centrosaurus
• Chasmosaurus
• Small Coelurosaur - possibly Troodon
• Corythosaurus
• Deinonychus
• Dimorphodon
• Diplodocus
• A hadrosaur - possibly Edmontosaurus
• Parasaurolophus
• Plesiosaurus
• Pteranodon
• Pterodactylus
• Quetzalcoatlus
• Rhamphorhynchus
• Stegosaurus
• Styracosaurus
• Triceratops
• Tyrannosaurus rex
• Ultrasauros

Contexts

Dinosaurs appear in different contexts in the strip. Calvin may imagine himself as a dinosaur, apparently persuaded that his fantasy is a reality, evidenced by how he bites his mom in one strip, and attempts to fly like a pterodactyl in another. Calvin may also simply be daydreaming about dinosaurs, whether in the Mesozoic Era or in a modern setting (dinosaurs are pictured attacking a town and a museum).

Dinosaur book

The Dinosaur book is a book on dinosaurs that Calvin is seen reading in some strips.

• One time, Calvin is seen reading it while Hobbes is digging a hole that Calvin is in.
• Another time, the book is thrown in a trash can when Calvin imagines himself as a T-rex attacking a dinosaur but failing (in reality, Calvin throwing a snowball at Susie Derkins, who then chases him around angrily).