Keep in mind the publishing date: January 6, 2005, just a few weeks after the two ropen expeditions of 2004. The book was surely written before the author, Michael Newton, had any reasonable opportunity to become aware of critical new insights that my associates and I had obtained in those two expeditions. In addition, much more has been learned since 2005.

An astonishing 2744 cryptids are included in this massive reference work, from accounts and stories and resources from around the world; a few of those suggest modern living pterosaurs. Please do not judge this book negatively because of the insights gained within the last nine years, regarding the ropen of Papua New Guinea and similar pterosaur-like cryptids in the southwest Pacific. Encyclopedias are not expected to remain completely up-to-date forever.

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Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology – A Global Guide (by Michael Newton)

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Geography

Let’s consider new insights, regarding the ropen; but we first need to be clear about geography. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is now an independent state, a nation that includes the eastern portion of the island of New Guinea (the second-largest island in the world). Sometimes the three-word designation for the country is used incorrectly, as if it designates a particular island, which is does not. When you want to refer to the largest island in that part of the world, regardless of political boundaries, just say “New Guinea.”

When you’re in PNG (literally or in conversation) and you want to refer to the main area of that country (the eastern part of the island of New Guinea), just say “the mainland.” The western area of that island is part of another nation and that is another subject.

Ropen of Umboi Island

Westerners use the name “Umboi” for what people of PNG now call “Siasi,” or “Big Siasi.” (I noticed a couple of mispellings for “Umboi” in the Encylopedia of Cryptozoology.) Some villages on that island use the word “ropen” for the large glowing creature that flies around at night. I know of no other island in which a local language uses that word in that way, contrary to what seems to have come from sources that contributed to this encyclopedia.

The word “ropen” is surely not a compound word formed from “demon” and “flyer,” whatever the original language involved (although some native, years ago, may have used “demon flyer“ as a quick answer for an inquisitive Westerner); Michael Newton does not explicitly state that in his cryptozoology book, but something like that could be implied.

Unfortunately, some web pages now proclaim “demon flyer” as if it were a translation of the word ”ropen,” which it surely is not. For those who like to cling to that direct-translation idea, consider this: The native Baptist minister Jacob Kepas comes from a village in the Wau area of Morobe Province, and he told the American explorer Garth Guessman, in a videotaped interview in late-2004, that the word “ropen,” where he comes from, simply means “bird.” Few persons, anywhere, consider all birds to be demons.

We Westerners need to remember the consequences of learning one word in one village language in this area of the world in which hundreds of languages have complex relationships. A word in one village can have a different meaning (closely-related or not) from that same word in another village, and completely different words often have the same meaning, of course, in another local language. How different is that from the USA, where one language dominates!

Duwas versus Duah

“Duah” is probably a distortion from some Westerner who heard the word “duwas” and thought of “duah” as the singular; it is not. The only real word I know (in the southwest Pacific) that is close to “duah” is the Tok Pisin word for “door.” To the best of my knowledge, there is no animal, real or unreal, that in a local PNG language is called “duah.”

In 2003, while examining Paul Nation’s video footage from expeditions through 2002, I noticed an interview from around 1994. A native described how fish were stolen, one night, from a camp where his father had been sleeping. The man interviewed said, “In our language we call it ‘duwas.’” I believe he recognized that “ropen” on Umboi Island has basically the same meaning as “duwas.”

Conclusion

The Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology, with all its wonderful details about thousands of cryptids, carries on the questionable speculation that two different names in Papua New Guinea refer to two types of ropen, which is unlikely. Nevertheless it reveals how seriously some investigators and explorers consider the possibility that a strange unclassified flying creature lives in the southwest Pacific.

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Live Pterosaurs in America, third edition (by Jonathan David Whitcomb)

A Specific Cryptozoology book: Live Pterosaurs in America

From the Title Page:

Reports of huge flying “pterodactyls” in American skies have floated around the internet for years; but before about 2005, details were scarce. When an eyewitness was named, the interviewer was often anonymous; even when an eyewitness was credible, and the account published in a newspaper, the story was ridiculed, discouraging others who had also seen strange flying creatures. Where could eyewitnesses go? What a predicament for them! Who would believe their reports? [before 2005---now it's believable]

From the Introduction:

This book might make a few Americans uneasy to walk alone at night; my intention, however, is not to frighten but to enlighten as many readers as possible to know about live-pterosaur investigations. Those who’ve been shocked at the sight of a flying creature that “should” be extinct—those eyewitnesses, more numerous than most Americans would guess, need no longer be afraid that everyone will think them crazy, and no longer need they feel alone. Those of us who’ve listened to the American eyewitnesses, we who have interviewed them, we now believe. So, if you will, consider the experiences of these ordinary persons (I’ve interviewed most of them myself) and accept whatever enlightenment you may.

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Definition of “Science”

It appears that WS’s personal definition of “science” includes something like this: All dinosaurs and pterosaurs became extinct millions of years ago. He wrote nothing like that in his book review, so how did I come to that conclusion? Notice what he did write:

“A large portion of it is devoted to the author’s antiscience rhetoric . . .”

“Rhetoric” is a word sometimes chosen by someone offended by another’s words, and it is used to belittle ideas with which one disagrees, therefore we can dispense with that word after acknowledging that WS disagrees with something I have written.

I have found some clues that suggest WS has been careless in his reading and thinking. If he had looked more closely at the Amazon Book Description, he would have noticed this: “Learn for yourself what many scientists never imagine.” The book contradicts a common assumption held by many scientists. (I’m sure many purchasers of many Amazon books fail to read all the contents of the Book Descriptions; WS may be typical.)

Of course I could have been more careful myself, in writing that Amazon Book Description, making it easier for potential readers to know that the subject is controversial and contrary to deeply held assumptions about extinction. But WS seems to have also been careless while reading the book.

Perhaps the following paragraph in the book can help explain why WS chose the word “antiscience:”

Some eyewitnesses fear discovering the monstrous possibility of personal insanity. Others fear not insanity itself but the opinions of anyone who might think them insane. Others fear discovering that some of what they had been taught about science was false; they prefer to believe that scientific proclamations must always be true. How grateful I am for those who, in spite of their fears, report to me their encounters!

I believe that WS read the sentence that included “scientific proclamations” and realized I was fighting against one or more of those proclamations, so that reader concluded that I was against science, in other words my writings are ”antiscience.” But how great is the difference between scientific proclamations and science!

Any scientist can proclaim a new idea, be it classified as a conjecture, hypothesis, or theory. What if that idea contradicts a popular idea held by many scientists? Such a submission of an idea does not mean that the scientist has become transformed into an anti-scientist. In fact, holding too firmly to a scientific axiom might actually be a problem, especially if significant evidence appears to contradict the axiom.

I believe that WS was unprepared for the book Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea. He was unwilling to consider the possibility that a popular axiom of biology might be faulty or just plain wrong.

Four Chapters - Four Sightings

This reviewer of my book Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea wrote this:

“The book really consists of one or two intriguing reports . . .”

Let’s move away from WS’s personal opinion about what is or is not “intriguing,” for his statement about numbers of reports can seriously mislead people who read his book review. Four of the chapters shown in the above image of the Table of Contents are each devoted to a sighting report; those are the key sightings, critical to understanding the credibility of pterosaur sightings in general. The book also contains other sightings, a good number, notwithstanding WS’s statement about “one or two.”

The four key sightings (each with a chapter of its own) are these:

• The Finschhafen Pterodactyl
• The Bougainville Creature
• The Lake Pung Encounter
• The Perth Creature

Here’s a part of what’s found in the chapter “The Bougainville Creature:”

The creature I saw one early morning in Bougainville is etched in my memory. . . . I actually heard it before I saw it. A slow flap…flap…flapping sound. The air was still, and our truck had stopped on our downward journey from the top of the range to the coast way below. The sound was amplified by the road-cutting into the mountain. That is, there was bare red/orange clay, rather than the surrounding jungle.

I can’t remember why our vehicle had stopped. Maybe we had to wait for another vehicle to pass us. I don’t know. But I can still hear that slow flapping sound in the stillness of an early tropical morn, on the road from Panguna down to Loloho on Bougainville Island in 1971.

When I looked up . . . I saw a very unusual creature. Firstly, it was very big (wingspan at least 2 metres, probably more . . . possibly much, much more). I can’t remember the exact distance estimate that this creature was from me . . . It was black or dark brown. I had never seen anything like it before. It certainly looked prehistoric, in that it did not look like any other bird that I have seen before or since.

Why prehistoric? Well, maybe my memory has been influenced by the intervening years, but I recall seeing this creature with a longish narrow tail . . . the head was disproportionately large compared to the body (no feathers in sight). The wingspan was large. The head had no ‘normal’ beak. Rather there seemed to be . . . a kind of beak that was indistinguishable from the head, and the head seemed to continue this ‘point’ at the back of the head. There was a clear line running from the ‘beak’ to the back of the head..where the ‘line’ continued to protrude . . .

For those who were previously unaware of the eyewitness in this sighting, don’t assume Brian Hennessy is crazy for seeing such a thing. Mr. Hennessy is himself a professional psychologist.

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Commenting on a Review of a Pterosaur Book

Consider WS’s declaration: “The book really consists of one or two intriguing reports . . .” Without the word “intriguing,” that statement is patently false. With the word, WS is declaring his opinion or his personal interest in a small portion of the sighting reports. But WS’s statement can be misleading, for no mention is made about the many sighting reports investigated in the book, the many reports that he personally does not find intriguing.

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Non-fiction cryptozoology: Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea

Part of the Preface:

You will here find reports of encounters with apparent living pterosaurs, including many accounts never before published in any book. Other sighting reports are condensed from the print book “Searching for Ropens.” The ebook you are now examining is neither exhaustive nor rudimentary, but it explains most of what most Australians, and others, need to know about what might, on rare occasions, fly over their heads at night.

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Is this a genuine photograph from the Civil War? (click on it for enlargement)

After hours of online searching, I have found extremely differing interpretations. On Dale Drinnon’s Frontiers of Zoology blog (in a post dated 16-May-2012), he dismisses this image as “a recent construction using photoshop, not a very old photo at all . . .” but he seems to miss a critical point that shoots down all the value of Photoshop evidence.

Drinnon points out places where blur is used and where image insertion seems evident. But why would those particular photo effects be used? He fails to dig deeply, apparently assuming there is no need. Why take this photo seriously if Photoshop effects are obvious? I find several reasons to take this seriously enough to continue investigating this photo. Consider these questions, remembering that Photoshop was first used by the public in 1990:

1. Was this apparent photo constructed recently, using Photoshop?
2. Why do some persons say that they remember this photo in a publication before 1970?
3. Is this story an isolated report, with no other sighting reports of giant pterosaurs in the USA?

Question #1:

Let’s assume somebody decided to make a hoax photo of a convincing recently-deceased Pteranodon. Using Photoshop, how would a hoaxer make it convincing? Would he use an image of a dugout canoe for the wings of the giant pterosaur? Not likely. Would he use or construct anything looking like an image of dugout canoe? Not likely. He would probably use a sketch of a whole Pteranodon, not piece together strange parts.

Drinnon is not alone, but I find it strange that some skeptics point out small details that they interpret as evidence of Photoshop manipulation (or they have heard a rumor of such) and fail to see the whole picture. Let us be clear: This photo shows a convincing head of a Pteranodon, or similar pterosaur head, with apparent wings that look somewhat like the ends of one or two very pointed dugout canoes. I suggest nobody since the first edition of Photoshop in 1990 would spend hours creating such a hoax to fooling people into thinking that a giant Pteranodon had been killed by Civil War soldiers. Those wings are too strange.

Now consider the implication of Drinnon’s proclamation that the people had halos around them (one evidence of Photoshop manipulation). What would a hoaxer do that would leave that kind of trace? What else than to insert those images of soldiers onto the background. But why go to all that trouble? He could just use an old Civil War photograph that already had soldiers in it.

I see only one good reason for a hoaxer to paste several images of individual soldiers onto a background: to hide the deception from those who might recognize the original photographs of the Civil War. But persons who know those old photographs well—those persons are rare, so the hoaxer must be extremely meticulous in his forgery. In that case, he would avoid making it at all easy for anybody to doubt what appears to be a recently-deceased pterosaur. Now we see the problem that flies in our faces: What weird wings!

Question #2:

According to one site (with which I disagree on some issues), “many people” remember reading a “‘believe it or not’ type book” that was published between 1950 and 1970. I have only a vague memory of it myself. But if one of my associates or I find it in our research, it could blow away any references to Photoshop hoaxing. We’ll see what we find.

Question #3:

Is this apparent encounter with a giant pterosaur an isolated event? Hardly. For the past nine years, I have received eyewitness reports, some of which include descriptions of a huge pterosaur-like animal flying overhead. This fits perfectly well with the concept of some Civil War soldiers being photographed next to the body of a similar creature. If genuine, the photograph would show an encounter in harmony with generations of human experience in North America.

Conclusion

I’ve not yet come to any firm conclusion about the authenticity of this photograph. I’m still keeping an open mind about its age, as well. This photograph, if recorded during the Civil War, could have been a physically contrived hoax, using one or two dugout canoes, and with a Pteranodon head added onto the photo more recently, to amplify the effect. We’ll see.

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Three photos of possible pterosaurs

Despite the canoe-like wings, photo #3 is the most credible of these three, by far, believe it or not. My intention, however, is not to force this into an all-or-nothing, sure-thing-or-fake, judgment. Assign it whatever credibility you like . . .

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1. Poor foundation two centuries ago
2. Over-exuberant promotion of Darwin
3. Extreme extinction-indoctrination
4. Over-confidence in Western paradigms
5. Preference for theory over common experience

1) Extinction Assumptions from late 1700′s to early 1800′s

“Not everybody embraces a live pterodactyl.” In fact, most persons, around the world, have not seen anything that they could feel sure was a “flying dragon” or pterosaur. If those flying creatures are not rare they’re uncommon, and they’re nocturnal or at least mostly nocturnal. Indeed, most Americans and other citizens of Western countries do not even know that anybody is researching reports of extant pterosaurs. In that perspective, look to Europe and turn back the calendar two centuries.

The first few European discoveries of pterosaur fossils, in the late 1700′s and early 1800′s, were by a small group of scientists, a select few investigators. It would hardly be surprising, if we could travel back to their time and interview them, to discover that not one of those few Europeans had ever seen a living pterosaur. Then and now, only a small fraction of the European population has seen a living pterosaur.

To the point, those early discoverers of pterosaur fossils only assumed those creatures were extinct. This idea of extinction was carried over to later discoveries of different species of pterosaurs and eventually applied to all creatures of that type. But there never was any evidence for universal extinctions of all species of pterosaurs.

2) Over-exuberant promotion of Darwin’s ideas about evolution

After the writings of Charles Darwin, fossils of dinosaurs and pterosaurs were assumed to be evidence that supported natural selection. The idea that they were all extinct and that all general creatures of those types were all extinct—that supported what was becoming a popular paradigm in Western countries. But the idea of universal extinctions of basic types was always an assumption, never proven.

3) Extreme indoctrination into the universal-extinctions dogma

From the late 1800′s to the present, Americans and other Western peoples have been indoctrinated from childhood into the dogma that all species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs became extinct millions of years ago. No evidence is ever given for this concept, for it is a cultural paradigm that is deeply entrenched in Western thinking. This has made it extremely difficult for eyewitnesses to report encounters with creatures very much alive but not classified in Western biology textbooks. How often have Westerners dismissed sighting reports of dinosaur and pterosaur sighting reports as if there must be something wrong with the eyewitness.

I don’t recall that anybody has ever disputed the case for the extinction of many species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs, but the subject is universal extinctions of general types, and that is a completely different subject.

4) Over-confidence in Western paradigms

For many decades, Westerners have seen rapid progress in technology. But part of the price for our technological success is arrogance. We often find it difficult to take seriously any tale of a “flying dragon” when the report comes from a native in a less-developed country. If any American doubts that fact, just search, in American newspapers, for articles on sightings of living pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea. I don’t mean obscure blog posts on newspaper web pages or sensationalist publications; I mean print versions of traditional newspapers.

5) American complacency in allowing professors to think for us

(This may very well apply to persons in other Western countries.) Common experience—that reality of shared life—should bind us together. But why do so many of us so often choose to let others think for us. Why assume that everything labeled with “science” must be truth?

When many persons share a similar experience, and it contradicts a cultural paradigm, some of us look at the paradigm, even though most people prefer to just hold onto old traditions. Eyewitnesses around the world see flying creatures that Western professors insist became extinct millions of years ago, but many Americans see the same thing: usually long-tailed, often appearing featherless, sometimes with a head crest, sometimes appearing much larger than any common bird. We need to think for ourselves rather than just assume educated persons must be correct and human experience incorrect.

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Live Pterosaurs in America (by Whitcomb) – third edition of this nonfiction cryptozoology book

Portions of Amazon book reviews for the third edition:

Mr. Whitcomb does a thorough job questioning indoctrination and the close-mindedness of the Western world. Reading so many eye-witness reports of people who have seen living pterosaurs in America was mind-opening, to say the least. . . . The passion that Whitcomb and the pterosaur witnesses feel about these investigations make this book a great read and keep the pages turning. . . . [5 stars awarded]

This book is one of the best books that I have ever read! It reminds us to have an open mind and that the things we have all been taught as fact ….may not be fact at all. . . . [5 stars awarded]

Portions of Amazon book reviews for the second edition:

This is an updated review of the book and I am changing my rating to 5 stars. This book has been on my shelf for almost a year now. I pick it up every now and then and a part of me becomes more impressed by the book every time. . . .  I highly recommend this. You may find yourself almost believing in it, although that is not even the authors intent! Whitcomb painstakingly reviews every account for credibility and reason. This man is not a crank. He tries to weed out would be hoaxes and miss-identification. This is not a guy looking to create evidence to confirm his own beliefs. On top of this, I have great respect for a guy who follows his dreams so passionately. He has traveled to Papua New Guinea to search for the creature there and this book is somewhat of a sequel if you will. . . . If you are interested in reading about this subject, this is definitely the book to get….because there are almost none other out there. All levity aside, this author has really done a lot of work researching this issue. . . . [another review in which 5 stars are awarded]

I couldn’t put this book down. It is absolutely fascinating to read about eyewitness accounts of the people who have seen these creatures. To learn about these testimonies from such an open minded perspective is refreshing in the extreme! The way that our school systems and scientists alike are indoctrinated is sad. . . .  I highly recommend this book to anyone! People should know the truth about what is going on. No one ever hears anything about this unless they conduct extremely specific internet searches, even then, information is minimal. Jonathan Whitcomb needs to write more books! [5 stars awarded again]

The third edition is expanded from the second edition. Buy the third edition of this cryptozoology book. Sometimes the price on Amazon is even less for the most up-to-date version (improved third edition).

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How Does Cryptozoology Relate to Geology?

Walt Brown’s explanations of geology help answer a question that sometimes comes up for me: “How could pterosaurs have survived to the modern day?”

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Credibility of Georgia Pterosaur Eyewitnesses

Because of the great number of sightings worldwide, we now have compiled statistics from 128 accounts. Those 128 reports I chose because they showed signs of general credibility, meaning each one was more likely than not from an observation of an actual living pterosaur.

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Pterosaurs Alive, not Extinct

How often we read something like, “pterosaurs lived from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period,” or “became extinct by 65 million years ago.” How rarely we read the simple truth . . . [extinction is not universal].

This morning at about 6 am [later clarified to be within five minutes of 6:10 a.m.]  I saw three “dragons” flying over the 5-North freeway between Griffith Park and Glendale. They appeared to be several feet long, with a head:body:tail ratio that was certainly not that of a bird. Their wings were long, angular and pointed and their tails had triangular points. . . . I definitely saw them, but was driving so I could not stop and watch where they went.

I considered non-ropen possibilities but by Thursday the report appeared to me to have indeed come from an encounter with three ropens. A number of factors seemed to counter a hoax possibility and misidentification of birds was shot down by her choice from a silhouette page of birds, bats, and pterosaurs. It was the same page used by Guessman and Woetzel on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, in 2004.

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Silhouette test page: mostly pterosaurs, with some birds and bats

She chose #13 (Sordes Pilosus), the same image chosen by two important eyewitnesses on Umboi Island: Jonathan Ragu and Jonah Jim. I was not shocked, however, for although I have not yet seen one of these wonderful flying creatures myself, I have encountered many reports of others who have encountered them in Southern California. Descriptions do relate to the ropen of Papua New Guinea.

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Sordes Pilosus – a “basal” Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur supposed to be extinct for about 140 million years – was chosen as the creature seen by an anonymous eyewitness in Southern California (March 3, 2013) and by two natives on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea

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When I asked her about neck length, she replied:

Yes, that was another thing that tipped me off that they were not birds. They each had a distinct neck between body and head, that was more narrow and clearly visible.

She did not notice any glow from the three flying creatures, but the sky had already begun to brighten (it was just before dawn). Other eyewitnesses in California have testified of observing glowing creatures that fly at night, which supports the idea that at least some apparent pterosaurs in California are bioluminescent.

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Dragon Hunting in Southern California

Some persons might wonder if the woman could drive safely and ask if she had been high on something. Whitcomb asked her how high the creatures were flying above the I-5 and wondered if they had long necks.

Ropen or Pterosaur Sightings

Hodgkinson continues to give a powerful testimony of his 1944 encounter with a huge flying creature that is an obvious live pterosaur, notwithstanding the Western dogma about universal extinction.

Bioluminescence in Pterosaurs

Guessman interviewed Jonathan Ragu, of Mararamu Village, who saw a ropen in July of 2004, when he and his daughter were at a beach. Between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m., with a crescent moon and good visibility, it flew away from the northwest coast of Umboi Island, heading toward Tolokiwa Island . . . Glowing brightly . . . from the head and trailing edges of the wings, it flew fast, at tree-top level.

I just received a sighting report from Tennessee (edited for spelling and quoted in part):

A friend of mine has directed me to you to see if you may have any insight into what my husband and I saw this evening. We were driving home and saw three glowing balls in the sky. . . . My husband said, “hot air balloons,” and that’s just what they looked like but they were moving so fast through the sky. . . .

They were shortly followed by a fourth. . . . Any thoughts?? I live in Knoxville.

That sighting report of “glowing balls” flying through the sky at night in Tennessee—it gives us little to work with. I asked the eyewitness a few questions but the only way to be anywhere near sure that a person is seeing a bioluminescent pterosaur is this: An eyewitness needs to see both a form of a pterosaur and see a glow from that creature.

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Two years ago I received an email from a man in Miami, Florida:

I’m fairly close to the water . . . I’m also in the path of many airports in my area . . . so I know what airplane lights look like and can always hear an engine. I (along with guests on the second occasion) have seen some unexplained lights, very faint in the air. They looked to be gliding in a very easy manner. It is hard to explain. Regardless, the only explanation I’ve been given is that they’re satellites, but they were too close too the ground. . . . after reading some accounts, I think what I saw was a ropen . . .

That report from Florida also gives us little to work with. I hope that more eyewitnesses come forward from Florida, when this kind of flying light is again observed.

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Much more telling is a report from Pasadena, Texas. The creatures flew about 100-150 feet above the eyewitnesses:

I have seen them, they look like bats but flap their wings way different than birds do… And they have a red-orange bioluminiscent [sic] body… First time I spotted one was somewhere on Nov, 2011; last time I saw 2 of them together a week ago [March, 2012].

I asked the man, “Were you able to see any wings?” He replied:

Yes of course . . . glowing red-orange, and look like those of a bat

I asked him, “What is the longest that you have seen one, in seconds?” He replied:

The longest I have observed them is between 30 second to possibly a full minute when using binoculars

The sighting in Pasadena, Texas, is far more significant than the other two, for the eyewitness saw glowing wings, indicating it was a bioluminescent flying creature.

Huge Glowing Creature Flying in Southern California

In September of 2009, I received an email from a man who had a sighting, just the previous night, in Sherman Oaks, California (near Los Angeles). He and his girlfriend saw a creature that “baffled” them:

. . . it was so strange . . . it didn’t look like a bird really . . . My girlfriend has 20-20 vision and she told [me], a few minutes later, that it had lights on it. . . . [or] a glow or reflection.

The man estimated the wingspan at 10-15 feet; his girlfriend, at 20 feet.

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In April of 2010, I received an email from a man in that same area of Southern California. He told me:

[We saw a] bright radiation-like light coming from the belly of this Pterodactyl looking animal. I seen it fly right above us maybe 150-200 feet and this thing wasn’t no bat; it was bigger with large wing span . . .

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I know of other reports of flying lights in Southern California, lights that have been associated with flying creatures. I also know of many sightings of apparent pterosaurs in Southern California, some of which appear like the ropen of Papua New Guinea: long-tailed and featherless. Making a solid scientific case for bioluminescent pterosaurs in my home state and in other states of the USA—that is a tall order indeed, and it may take many more years to convince biology professors, and scientists in general, to accept extant pterosaurs. But that is what my associates and I are in this for: the long haul.

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Still from a Youtube video of a purported flying light in Georgia

If the Youtube video is genuine, a strange light was flying over Winder, Georgia, in 2010

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Live Pterosaurs in America, in its third edition, by Jonathan D. Whitcomb

Shown above is the back cover of the nonfiction cryptozoology book

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Bioluminescence in Pterosaurs

One night, in April of 1993, near the northwest coast of Umboi Island [Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea], after a large funeral procession arrived at the burial location, a creature with a glowing red tail came from the sea. . . . About two hundred mourners were awake when the creature flew overhead.

Pterosaur Sightings in the United States

RG and his friend, in the late afternoon of a clear day [in Texas], were startled by a flying creature less than 150 feet away. For about fifteen seconds, they watched it fly, about fifty feet high . . . The general appearance was “leathery” and it had a pointed beak and head appendage.

Focused Analysis of Pterosaur Sighting Reports

The heart of this post is an analysis that compares older sightings with newer ones.

Symbolically speaking, the cage enclosing the universal-extinction dogma (for pterosaurs) has appeared solid, rock tight against any escape. But the back of the enclosure, what hardly anybody even thinks about, differs greatly from the facade, not that the back door is unlocked or even wide open: There is no back door. But there is a huge hole for animals to escape, and that’s just what those pterosaurs have been doing for centuries.

Living Nightmare: Attack in the Dead of Winter

Remember your worst nightmare? Were you glad to wake up? Be grateful. In the early morning hours of February 23, 2010, a few miles or so southwest of Marfa, Texas, the victims were terrified by what awakened them.

. . . Aaron Wright: So how large are these creatures?

Jonathan Whitcomb:

The largest ones are very rare. But they’re so large that they cannot be mistaken if a person sees one. I’ll give you an example. In Perth, Australia, (I believe the year was 1997), it was in December, a couple was taking a walk. . . . They saw a creature flying up, and eventually they came to the conclusion that it could be as large as fifty-foot wingspan, from tip-to-tip of the wings.

Aaron: Fifty foot!

Jonathan:

But we have a number of other sightings across the southwest Pacific and in other parts of the world, including California in the United States, in which there are rare cases of a very large creature being sited in the daytime.

Just a few years ago, a man was driving in the daylight, in clear daylight, in Orange County, in Southern California, and he was startled to see this creature fly up from the marshy area on his left. It flew over the road—it’s . .  not too far above the road in front of him. And he says that the length from the nose (the front of the beak or whatever it was) to the end of the tail was the same as the width of the road. Now I went out there and I measured it: It was thirty feet. And he said about sixteen feet of that length was tail.

Aaron:

In your opinion, Jonathan, how do you think that these creatures have managed to exist for as long as they have, and yet science still won’t accept that they are actually out there?

Jonathan:

The challenge is still well within the realm of cryptozoology—we have eyewitnesses from around the world—but it’s so much against the common teachings that we have in Western countries like in the United States, for example, and we’re taught from childhood that they’ve been extinct for millions of years: All dinosaurs and pterosaurs are just ancient primitive creatures.

Not everybody believes that. My associates and I—we [have] a very different view. We are not convinced that they are ancient. There’s a major problem in the Western assumptions and origin philosophies. It’s kind of a complicated question.

The pterosaurs that are still living, there are very few species: maybe . . . only three or four species. They just basically keep away from people. . . . We have historical documents that kind of explain that because . . . historical records (some people think that they’re only mythical) but there are legends that indicate that people have gone out and killed these creatures, because they’re just a nuisance, a danger to humans in past centuries.

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Whitcomb (left) interviewed for a Canadian television talk show (only indirectly related)

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Whitcomb on Radio Talk Show in Australia (recorded for a podcast)

Aaron Wright:

Joining me today is Jonathan David Whitcomb, author of Live Pterosaurs in America and a new book which has just come out: Live Pterosaurs in Australia and Papua New Guinea.   Thanks for joining us, Jonathan; how are you today?

Jonathan Whitcomb: Oh, great! Thanks very much for inviting me.

Aaron:

Oh, you’re very welcome. So let’s just talk about ropens . . . and pterosaurs. What are these creatures? I thought they were extinct.

Jonathan:

Most species of pterosaurs have become extinct at some time in the past . . . What we’re trying to portray to the world is that we’ve discovered a large number of eyewitnesses, from different parts of the world, who testify of something that couldn’t be anything other than one or more species of living pterosaur.   I’ll give you an example. In Papua New Guinea, some of the villagers, the language that they speak, they have a word called “ropen,” and that designates a large nocturnal flying creature. And we know from eyewitnesses that it has a long tail, and it has a bioluminescent capacity. It glows for a few seconds at a time at night, as it’s flying.

Pterosaur Sightings

“I know what it was. It wasn’t a heron; it wasn’t a vulture . . .” The eyewitness was shocked to see that the creature had both a head crest (common in Pterodactyloids) and a long tail with a “diamond tip” (common in Rhamphorhynchoids).

Pterosaur Sighting in a Newspaper

. . . Yesterday, Mr Whitcomb and his local guide showed up at the Post Courier office in Lae to tell of his study. He said the stories were not just myth but actual sightings of a real animal and he was there to try to capture it on film.

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I recently started sending out a survey to biology professors in universities in the United States. Part of the purpose relates to investigating bias in favor of the pterosaur-extinction axiom. The following is part of that survey, three questions:

1) Before receiving this survey, did you know of the word “ropen” in relation to a reported flying creature? (Y/N)

2) Before receiving this survey, did you know anything about any expedition or research in Papua New Guinea, related to the idea that at least one species of extant pterosaur might live there? (Y/N)

3) How would you rate your belief in the possibility of one or more species of extant pterosaur living in Papua New Guinea? You may use a number, 0-100, to rate your belief in relation to these examples: 0 = sure all species of pterosaurs are extinct 100 = sure at least one species is still living

You may reply to any or all three of the above questions in your own words, if you choose. You may also answer less than all three of them.

As of early February 2, 2013, about 5% have responded. Significant details should be available before the end of February.

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From the Book Live Pterosaurs in Australia and in Papua New Guinea

Cryptozoology is not a branch of science, at least not in the usual sense; but it can motivate zoologists to conduct field investigations, at least in theory it can motivate them. It is the “study of hidden animals,” and usually relies less on direct scientific examination and more on eyewitness testimony . . .

The American missionary Thomas Savage, in the 1800′s in Africa, obtained some bones of what we now call a “Western Gorilla,” which prepared for its eventual scientific acknowledgement. Whatever led that missionary to obtain those bones can be called “cryptozoological,” especially if he had been following eyewitness accounts. . . .

Most of the twenty-first century modern-pterosaur expeditions [in the southwest Pacific] have resulted in at least one sighting of at least one distant flying light. We call it by its name on Umboi Island: “ropen.” We believe it is a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur and that it has intrinsic bioluminescence.

Most explorers [in Papua New Guinea] have interviewed one or more native eyewitnesses who had dramatic encounters with flying creatures described like pterosaurs: creature sightings much more revealing than distant lights. A few natives have seen, at night or in twilight, such a flying creature as it was glowing. This appears to verify native traditions that the lights come from flying creatures. . . . [Natives have no bias against living creatures described like pterosaurs.]

. . . Some eyewitnesses [those in Western countries like the United States] fear discovering . . . personal insanity. Others fear not insanity itself but the opinions of anyone who might think them insane. Others fear . . . that some of what they had been taught about science was false; they prefer to believe that scientific proclamations must always be true [bias against the possibility of an extant pterosaur]. How grateful I am for those who, in spite of their fears, report to me their encounters!

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Pterosaur Sightings and Statistics

Since the two ropen expeditions of 2004 (on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea), a few biologists and non-biologists have written about . . . pterosaur sightings . . . very few. But many of those writings have been dismissive . . .

Pterosaur Sighting in Georgia

Flying creatures observed in the state of Georgia, according to the reports I have received from eyewitnesses, resemble apparent pterosaurs of other states and indeed of other countries.

Eskin Kuhn – Sighting of two Pterosaurs

Eskin C. Kuhn watched the two “pterodactyls” fly over part of the Guantanamo Bay military installation (Cuba) in 1971, in clear daylight and at “close range.” Within a few minutes, he began sketching what he had seen.

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COULD humble Siassi Islands in Morobe Province hold the answer to studies into prehistoric times? Many in the scientific community would like to know the answer to this question. [When I was interviewed by the newspaper reporter, I did not bring up the word "prehistoric" or the concept of old-age creatures; she must have done some research after our interview.]

Among them is Jonathan Whitcomb, an American forensic videographer, who arrived on Siassi to investigate the Ropen — perhaps the only surviving pre-historic animal to be found in the world. [The reporter definitely did not get that idea from me.] Mr Whitcomb has been on Umboi Island, the main island of the Siassi Islands, trying to capture on film the creature.

. . . “Ropen” is the local *Kowai (Siassi) name for the creature and is also the name known for the animal among the [paleontology] and the general scientific communities [I never told her that]. * ["Kovai" is a more common spelling.]

. . . Yesterday, Mr Whitcomb and his local guide showed up at the Post Courier office in Lae to tell of his study. He said the stories were not just myth but actual sightings of a real animal and he was there to try to capture it on film. Mr Whitcomb said the creature had features of a giant flying fox, with a mouth like that of a crocodile and wings that span up to 7m. It has been sighted by many of the islanders, he said, and he had travelled there after hearing about it.

Antwerp, Ohio, Pterosaur Sighting

The Antwerp Bee-Argus weekly newspaper (Antwerp) published the following on Aug 5, 2009:

Special to Antwerp Bee-Argus from author in Long Beach, California [Whitcomb]

Strange Flying Creature Seen Near Antwerp

A young man was reported to have seen something strange flying over the Maumee River in the summer of 2003; he described it like a pterosaur, according to a recently-published book, “Live Pterosaurs in America.” It was reported to be chasing sparrows as it flew over the Route 49 bridge near Antwerp, Ohio.

Jonathan Whitcomb, author of the book, interviewed the young man . . . The animal appeared to be ten feet long, including a long tail. Whitcomb asked him about feathers, but he replied, “absolutely no feathers.” But something else made it different from any bird: It had teeth.

. . . Pterosaurs are sometimes called “pterodactyls” and have been thought by many scientists to have gone extinct many millions of years ago. Whitcomb believes the Maumee River creature may be like the ropen of Papua New Guinea, north of Australia.

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California Pterosaur in a Newspaper

. . . reports of “dragons” flying over an area south of Fresno [CA], around Selma.

Statistics on Pterosaur Sightings

I know this could seem impossible to many paleontologists: “basal” pterosaurs that fly over our heads at night, sometimes flying in daylight; but consider now the reports of long tails on these flying creatures. Of the total sightings, a long tail was reported in 41% of the reports and no-long-tail in 2%.

Pterosaur Sighting in South Carolina

Susan Wooten’s shocking encounter, in daylight, while she was driving on a country highway

• Ropen episode of Destination Truth (2007), Season 1, “Ropen/Chupacabra” Broadcast
• Flying Monsters episode of Monsterquest (2009), Season 3, #15

Both of them consulted with me during their pre-production research, before their respective expeditions in Papua New Guinea. I recommend the Destination Truth episode.

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Josh Gates (left) interviews an eyewitness (Ropen episode of Destination Truth)

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From the Third Edition of “Live Pterosaurs in America” (book)

I am grateful that the History Channel’s MonsterQuest episode on “flying monsters” in Papua New Guinea revealed to many Americans the living-pterosaur searches by Garth Guessman and Paul Nation; but the MonsterQuest expedition on New Britain Island, in early 2009, was not itself a serious living-pterosaur investigation but a show that cast doubt on that belief of those two Americans. . . .

I had assisted two of the production researchers with early pre-production, answering questions by emails and short phone conversations, notwithstanding the show’s title, “MonsterQuest,” made me suspicious. . . .

And I’m grateful that viewers of the June 3rd [2009] episode were introduced to Guessman and Nation (two of the most-active explorers searching for living pterosaurs), for the complete truth will eventually come out, regardless of present limitations: I noticed limitations in the knowledge and understanding of the show’s writers or editors. . . .

. . . Now for the show’s content. Impressive 3-D animations of giant pterodactyloids give no hint that many important eyewitness testimonies clearly include long tails. I realize the constraints involved with a one-hour episode: little time for distinguishing between sightings of the long-tails Rhamphorhynchoids and the short-tailed Pterodactyloids. But the World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson is briefly interviewed, giving viewers the impression that he saw something similar to that 3-D creature.

The day after the broadcast, I talked with Garth Guessman on the phone. He told me that eyewitness reports on New Britain Island are of short-tailed creatures, rather than long-tailed ones common elsewhere in Papua New Guinea; that justifies the producers. But other things made it difficult to imagine how the producers could have been justified in their decisions. . . .

Some viewers of this episode may have become convinced that evidence for living pterosaurs is scarce. Why? The eyewitness testimonies, scarcely covered, were overshadowed by a fossil-expert’s declaration about ancient extinctions and his personal disbelief in extant pterosaurs. Truth would have been better served with more coverage of the eyewitness evidence, rather than the overemphasized personal doubts of that man.

The world’s greatest expert on chickens—that’s a fox. The details of that expertise culminate in picking bones, executed differently than, but for the same purpose as, the work of a fossil expert: to make a living. The hope differs: The paleontologist searches for ancient bones somehow protected from the destructive forces of time; the fox, for fresh meat, somehow unprotected by the farmer for a time. Interminable dogmatism keeps both of them searching: one for death anciently; the other, death soon-to-be. [Excerpts from pages 116-118 of the nonfiction book]

I am grateful that my friends and associates Garth Guessman, Clifford Paiva, and Paul Nation were featured on this Monsterquest episode. I am also grateful that Duane Hodgkinson was part of this television production about these wonderful flying creatures.

More recently, I have been communicating with a lady who is researching accounts of apparent pterosaurs for a possible television production. Some of the recent sightings discussed include those in the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina. I hope that at least a few American eyewitnesses will be interviewed and shown on this documentary, but there is not yet any guarantee that production will take place. For now, I am helping with early pre-production.

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ropen

Jonathan David Whitcomb, a forensic videographer, interviewed Hodgkinson, in 2004, and found his testimony credible. In 2005, Garth Guessman, another ropen investigator, in Montana videotaped his own interview with Hodgkinson and the session was analyzed by Whitcomb, who became even more convinced the World War II veteran was telling the truth: The man had seen a ropen.

Ropen Episode of Destination Truth

Just before Eric Wing and Neil interviewed me in their Hollywood office, I had received news that Paul had videotaped some ropen lights . . .

Destination Truth Arrived Honestly

We must understand, however, the great difference between a well-funded scientific expedition and a television adventure series, for Destination Truth had several purposes for visiting the southwest Pacific, and the glowing ropen was only one of them.