History WesternAnimation / DinosaurTrain

* PregnantReptile: Discussed in the "Zepplin" arc. When the young ''Polycotylus'' says she's one day old, the kids point out that she's half the size of her mother, and Don wonders if her egg was huge. The ''Polycotylus'' says no, her species gives live birth.

* YoungerThanTheyLook: In the zepplin arc, the ''Pteranodon'' family meet a ''Polycotylus'' mother and daughter. When Tiny says they're from the Cretaceous, the daughter says "did you think I was born yesterday?"... then clarifies that she meant that literally. Despite being a baby, she's half the size of her mom and can already hold a conversation.

* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Subverted. Deanna ''Deinosuchus'' is specifically stated to be a dangerous predator towards the ''Pteranodon'', but ultimately friendly when she's not hungry.

* ThreateningShark: Subverted in the episode "Carla Cretoxyrhina"; the kids are afraid of the titular character and her father (who are prehistoric sharks that look very similar to great whites) at first, but they quickly become friends.

* TheCatfish: In one episode, the Old ''Spinosaurus'' holds a fishing competition to catch an elusive ''Mawsonia'' (a kind of coelacanth) that he's named Chester. The other contestants are Mr. ''Pteranodon'' and a ''Baryonyx'', and they all end up catching it at the same time.

* TurtleIsland: In one episode, they look for a ''Diplodocus''. Don finds a "hill" , Buddy rests on some "trees", Shiny meets a "snake" and Tiny finds a "bridge". After meeting, it doesn't take long to figure ot the are all parts of a ''Diplodocus''.

[[caption-width-right:320:"We may be different, but we're all creatures! All dinosaurs have different features!"]]

* AbortedDeclarationOfLove: In "Gilbert Visits the Nest", before Gilbert goes back home, Shiny is about to tell him that she likes him, but she says "I like you....visiting! I like you visiting!" and gives an awkward laugh.
* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: The Conductor's mom only wears a collar around her neck, while his nephew, Gilbert, only wears a conductor's hat. All the other ''Troodon'' who operate the [[TitleDrop Dinosaur Train]] or work at the stations wear hats.

* GoodParents: Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon are excellent parents to Buddy, Tiny, Shiny, and Don.

* InterspeciesRomance: Mr. Conductor and Erma ''Eoraptor''; Shiny and Gilbert have a PuppyLove thing.

* NoAntagonist: Most of the show is devoid of any villainous characters. Even in the odd episode where there is an antagonist like Keenan Chirostemotes and Remy Ramphorhynchus (or the unnamed T-rex also in their debut episode), they do little in the way of serious harm and are more bullies than anything else.

* OddNameOut: The Pterandon family kids are named [[RhymeThemeNaming Buddy, Tiny, Shiny]], and Don.

* SpinosaurusVersusTRex: More or less subverted in the episode "The Old Spinosaurus and the Sea". The young Tyrannosaurus Buddy and his adoptive Pteranodon family go fishing in the Big Misty Sea, but they are worried of the old Spinosaurus who live there as he is known to have a bad temper and may possibly be dangerous to them. When they end up encountering him, he yells at them for causing the fishes to go away, however he doesn't attack them and eventually turns out to be much nicer than he looks, to the point that he even befriends Buddy and teaches him his fishing techniques.

* TalkingAnimal: Basically everything with a brain aside from certain fish and insects.

* ThisIsMySide: Mr. Pteranodon does this in "New Neighbors" when the Lambeosaurs move in start eating all the leaves off the oak trees.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Tiny and Shiny. Tiny likes to go on adventures, while Shiny is more feminine and prefers to stay behind.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: The Pteranodons LOVE fish. Meanwhile, Buddy and the other ''T. rex''es love carrion.
* TurtleIsland:
** When the family visits the Misty Sea, they mistake ''Spinosaurus'' for an island.
** In one episode, they look for a ''Diplodocus''. Don finds a "hill" , Buddy rests on some "trees", Shiny meets a "snake" and Tiny finds a "bridge". After meeting, it doesn't take long to figure ot the are all parts of a ''Diplodocus''.

* InvisibleIntrovert: Leslie Lesothosaurus has the natural ability to camouflage and she uses it to hide from everybody, not just from predators. She becomes less shy, however.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Don is quite the air-headed oddball. His hobbies include digging holes and singing 'la la loo'.

* LegacyCharacter: The Conductor's mother was the Dinosaur Train's previous conductor. Also, the Conductor's nephew Gilbert is a junior conductor in training.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Most of the major characters have their own specific theme that plays when they talk.
** Buddy has a steel drum beat (or at least an instrument similar to that).
** Tiny has a twinkly piano piece.
** Mr. Conductor has a twangy guitar.
** Laura has flamenco music.
** The ''Velociraptor''s have flutes and sitars, given that they were discovered in Mongolia.

* ParentalLoveSong: "The Good Mom" ends with Mrs. Pteranodon signing a lullaby to her kids about how no matter what happens, she'll always be their mom.

** However, this is also played straight a few times. For example, in "Valley of the Stygimolochs", Spikey's younger siblings hatch from yellow eggs with red speckles (similar to their kinds' red horns); and in another episode, Olivia ''Oviraptor''[='=]s eggs are pink like she is.

%% * HalloweenEpisode: "Haunted Roundhouse" and "Big Pond Pumpkin Patch".

%% * ImagineTheAudienceNaked: Buddy says something like an inversion to this to King ''Cryolophosaurus'' in "''Troodon'' Train Day".

* BumblingDad: {{Downplayed}} with Mr. ''Pteranodon''. While he's by no means an idiot, he's prone to getting flustered (such as when he meets his favourite dinoball player), and his rivalry with Larry ''Lambeosaurus'' gets him into trouble a few times.

* SayMyName: Annie's mother, Dolores Tyrannosaurus, yells her name when she needs something from her.

* SurferDude: Morris the Stegosaurus has a strong surfer accent and all the associated mannerisms.

%% * FictionalSport: Dinoball.

* ExactWords: In one episode, Larry ''Lambeosaurus'' hosts a game where the dinosaur who collects the most leaves wins. Kenan, the local bully, tells the ''Pteranodon'' siblings that they can't win because they're not dinosaurs. They ask Larry to clarify, and he says he meant all the creatures in the neighbourhood, so he rephrases the rule.

* AquaticHadrosaurs: Discussed briefly in the ''Corythosaurus''-centered episode. When the main characters are learning about the function of its crest, Buddy asks Cory if it's used for breathing underwater, Don, due to being more of a {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, asks her if it's used for flight, and Tiny asks her if it's related to the music they make. Cory denies the first two questions and affirms the third one.

* CharacterSignatureSong: King ''Cryolophosaurus'' apparently wrote the last verse of the show's theme song.

* ElvisImpersonator: King ''Cryolophosaurus'' is a famous, but reclusive, singer who sounds like Elvis Presley. In his debut episode's learning segment, Dr. Scott says that ''Cryolophosaurus''[='=]s crest reminded its discoverers of Presley's hair.

%% * FriendlyEnemy: Thurston Troodon to The Conductor.

* GenderBlenderName: Cory is usually a boys' name, but Cory Corythosaurus is a girl.

* MatingDance: In the episode King Meets Crystal, King Cryolophosaurus does this for Crystal, following the suggestion of the Conductor.

* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: When the kids learn that ''Eoraptor'' was one of the first dinosaurs, they assume it's really big, so they're surprised to see that the fully-grown Erma ''Eoraptor'' is barely taller than them.

* TimeTravelRomance: An [[ExaggeratedTrope extreme example]]; the Conductor -- a ''Troodon'', one of the ''last'' dinosaurs, is in a relationship with Erma -- an ''Eoraptor'', one of the ''first'' dinosaurs. They live nearly 200 million years apart -- [[TimeAbyss the same time difference as it would be if, say, a Stegosaurus started dating a HUMAN]] -- but it's very clear that they love each other.

* AnachronisticAnimal: A recurring character is a ''Palaeobatrachus'' who lives in the Late Cretaceous, even though the genus didn't appear until about 16 million years later.

* {{Keet}}: Oren and Ollie are always full of energy.

* MotorMouth: Oren and Ollie Ornithomimus are fast-talkers, fitting with how [[SuperSpeed fast they generally are]].

* SingleMindedTwins: Oren and Ollie are both speedy and competitive. That's it. They tend to act as one.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Mr. Pteranodon doesn't get along with Larry Lambeosaurus due to the latter's stupidity.

* PregnantReptile: Discussed in the "Zepplin" arc. When the young ''Polycotylus'' says she's one day old, the kids point out that she's half the size of her mother, and Don wonders if her egg was huge. The ''Polycotlys'' says no, her species gives live birth.

%% * ChromaKey: This technique is sometimes used in the Dr. Scott the Paleontogist segments.