Hipposaurus

Hipposaurus
A hipposaurus garbage truck from "The Flintstones: Jogging Fever".
Characteristics
Body type	Artiodactyla
Body size	Medium
Ecology
Habitat	Semi-aquatic
Diet	Herbivorous
Locomotion	Underwater

Hipposauruses (also known simply as Hippos) are a species of herbivorous mammals which existed during the Stone Age featured in the franchise of The Flintstones.

Background

Hipposauruses were portly herbivorous mammals with a single horn on the top of their noses, a couple front teeth on their mouths, spiked stair-like ridges on their backs, and variously colored skin including orange, purple and blue with or without black spots. They were usually around the size of a cowasaurus, making them slightly smaller than the average caveman but still quite sizeable. Although some could grow quite large, even to the size of a cavetruck.

Uses

According to the franchise of The Flintstones, hipposauruses were mainly used as presses, clock punchers and rock burners. They could also be used as amusement park rides. However even these uses were rare and most hipposauruses were simply wild or stray animals, as seen with Hippy and hipposauruses in "The Animal Master" and "Dino's Girl".

Garbage Trucks

Because of their appetite and large size, they could also be used as garbage trucks as seen in The Flintstones - Jogging Fever.

Musical Instruments

However the most common use for hipposauruses were as musical instruments, specifically as pianos and xylophones for playing music with their finely-tuned teeth. Moonrock Crater himself owned a hipposaurus xylophone in The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and The Flintstone Comedy Hour.

Breeds & Relatives

Yawnocceruses

Yawnocceruses were large and incredibly sleepy hipposauruses that spent all their time sleeping. Its most notable trait was a massive horn on its head and spikes on its tail.

Appearances

• The Flintstones
  • "The House Guest"
  • "The Entertainer"
  • "Time Machine"
  • "A Haunted House is Not a Home"
  • "Rip Van Flintstone"
• The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
• Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm (Charlton Comics)
• The Flintstone Comedy Hour
  • "Squawkie Talkies"
• The New Fred and Barney Show
  • "The Butler Did It... and Did It Better"
• The Flintstones: Jogging Fever
• The Flintstone Comedy Show
• A Flintstones Christmas Carol

Gallery

A burnt-orange hipposaurus as a press with a blue monkeysaurus from "The House Guest".

A purple hipposaurus as a flying attraction with Fred and Barney from "Time Machine".

A mounted hipposaurus from "A Haunted House is Not a Home"

A plum purple hipposaurus as a xylophone with Moonrock in "The Golden Voice" from The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.

Hippy the Hipposaurus in "Squawkie Talkies" from The Flintstone Comedy Hour.

Hippy the Hipposaurus with Pebbles, Bamm-Bamm, Moonrock, Wiggy and Penny.

Pebbles playing a hipposaurus piano in the intro/outro and one of the musical segments from The Flintstone Comedy Hour.

Moonrock playing a hipposaurus xylophone from the 3rd issue of Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm.

A greenish-brown hipposaurus as a rock burner in "The Butler Did It... and Did It Better" from The New Fred and Barney Show.

Moonrock's blue hipposaurus xylophone in the "Chickenasaurus Dance" segment from The Flintstone Comedy Show.

Pebbles playing a turtle shell drum along with Dino playing a guitar, Wilma playing a stork-violin and Fred as a Hippo-Xylophone in a sericel.

A mounted hipposaurus from a March 22, 1965 comic strip.

A hipposaurus punch clock from a February 20, 1966 comic strip.

Herman the Hipposaurus wood clamp from a June 10, 1984 comic strip.

A hipposaurus punch clock from The Flintstone Comedy Show.

Notes/Trivia

• Hipposauruses being used as musical instruments is a reference to the pioneering era of rubber hose animation where hippos were often used as xylophones or pianos including the cow's teeth as a makeshift xylophone from Disney's 1928 animated short film and Mickey Mouse cartoon, Steamboat Willie.