Pterosaur Eyewitness

I don’t deny that any species of pterosaur has become extinct. Eyewitnesses, however, demonstrate that not all species have become victims of extinction, at least not yet. What we as humans do now—that may influence the life or death of one or more species of pterosaur, however.

Human Experience

This morning, while gazing out my back window, I saw a crow flying through the neighborhood. It flew about 30-40 feet high, about 300 feet from my position, line-of-sight, with many tree branches and leaves obstructing much of my view. Still, I noticed what appeared to be evidence of primary feathers on that crow. All right, I was looking for that spaced-out look at the end of large primary feathers, so that may not have been a perfectly objective observation. The point? My perception of that evidence for primary feathers cannot be legitimately dismissed just because my objectiveness might be questioned.

In that same light, the human experience of observing an apparent living pterosaur cannot be legitimately dismissed just because a skeptic questions the objectiveness of that eyewitness. In particular, the observation of a long tail and an apparent lack of feathers on a flying creature—that cannot reasonably be given a “zero” in credibility just because textbooks declare all species of pterosaurs are long extinct. Indeed, where is objective reasoning if a textbook is used to evaluate the validity of human experiences?

Add up a multitude of zeros and what do you get? Zero. It seems that at least some critics of living pterosaur investigations try to make it appear that a particular sighting has zero credibility and that all other similar sightings should therefore be given a credibility of zero. How shallow! They mention “bias” in those with whom they disagree on the subject of religion, sometimes using that idea by itself to try to dismiss a sighting. Really!

Examine the Western textbooks in detail. Where do you find any reference to any human experience regarding the extinction of even one species of pterosaur? Such a human experience is completely lacking, and the objection that it is impossible for humans to have witnessed any extinction of any pterosaur—that objection is irrelevant: The assumption of universal pterosaur extinctions comes not from any human experience. The point? How foolish to dismiss all human experiences, from around the world, that contradict a dogma of Western textbooks!

Pterosaur Extinction

Open almost any textbook that refers to the creatures. Most likely you’ll find their extinction (many millions of years ago) is treated as if it were indisputable. Why is this idea so prevalent? Is this a scientific “fact” that has been proven? If so, when was it proven?

Cryptozoology and Pterosaur Extinction

How could living pterosaurs escape the notice of scientists for centuries? Two words: “nocturnal,” “rare.” But something else has prevented the discovery of these amazing animals: dogmatism of standard biology.

Marfa Lights or Ghost Lights

Why have a few critics dismissed the living pterosaur interpretation of Marfa Lights, dismissed it outright? Extinction dogma. The indoctrination has been so widespread, for generations, that some skeptics simply use that cultural bias to reject any competing idea, reject it without any reasoning.

Now a cryptozoologist from California has explained the dancing lights of Marfa. Tales of spooks may hold a spark of truth, for recent research implies intelligence directs the lights: Bioluminescent flying predators may be hunting at night and catching a few unlucky Big Brown Bats: Eptesicus fuscus.

The second edition of the nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America is now being published, with online sales channels expected to be open before the end of this month (November, 2010). This edition is greatly expanded with new sighting reports and analysis. This non-fiction cryptozoology book can be found on Amazon.com. Part of 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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Let’s consider two states where eyewitnesses report seeing living pterosaurs: Kansas and Arkansas. Both sightings are covered in detail in the book Live Pterosaurs in America, nonfiction cryptozoology.

Pterosaur in Kansas

“My friend and I were talking and I mentioned that I had seen an extremely large bird that resembled a pterodactyl some years ago . . . I could not believe my eyes as I immediately thought of a prehistoric bird when I saw it. . . . a wing-span of 16-20 feet.”

This eyewitness used the word “bird,” apparently thinking that pterodactyls are prehistoric birds. But when asked about the possibility of feathers, she said, “It did not appear to have feathers.”

Pterosaur in Arkansas

“It was probably 1982 when me and my older brother were sitting in our carport [in Texarkana, Arkansas] It was getting dark but there was plenty of light in the sky when we saw what we believe to be a pterodactyle [pterosaur]. The wingspan seemed to be about 25’ to 30’ ft wide. . . . an awesome sight to see.”

Question: Was there any sign of feathers or . . . was it leathery or naked skin?
Answer: We did not see any signs of feathers, just sharp edged wings, the sharp pointed beak, and the sharp pointed crest on its head.

Question: Did it have any tail? [long-tailed flying cryptids are my specialty]
Answer: We did not see any tail. I have looked at my dinosaur book and the picture of the pteranodon looked like what we saw.

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From readers of first edition of non-fiction book Live Pterosaurs in America (note 2nd ed.):

“[The] new book arrived today! . . . a wonderful job!!! . . . more sightings than they can dispute (21 states!!!) . . . a descriptive and engaging ongoing investigation . . .” Susan Wooten, South Carolina.

“This seems to be the author’s second book on the subject, and this one is worth the effort. He has focused on the accounts of witnesses who saw something, and that adds credibility. The writing is easy to read and he adds comments and analysis . . . more useful. . . .” Red Rabbit, Cleveland, Ohio. [Five stars for the first edition]

“The problem with science is that we think we know it all and that is far from reality. This book shows courage to continue the search. If you have an interest in cryptozoology you should read this.” Dale Reeder, PA.

“This book is a great book! This book contains a lot of sightings and information on living pterosaurs. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in living pterosaurs.” [from Amazon-anonymous child] A Kid’s Review [Five stars for the first edition]

As of late-2010, only a few of the scientists who had investigated Marfa Lights, the strange ghost lights of Marfa, Texas, had been informed of the living-pterosaur explanation. (Not all lights around Marfa are truly uncommon, however, since the atmospheric conditions sometimes make distant car headlights appear strange.) The cryptozoological possibility seems weird, but there are similarities with the ropen lights of Papua New Guinea, and there the lights are said to be nocturnal flying creatures described like giant Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs: long-tailed ropens.

Sightings of Marfa Lights in Texas

. . . there is a separate and unique light phenomenon in the area of the Chianati mountain range that I can not explain. Balls of light sitting in a chico bush . . . One I really enjoyed watching moved straight up a cliff face and then rested on top of the mountain changing from bright yellow to a dim red . . .

Marfa Lights of Texas

The flying (and sometimes dancing) lights of Marfa, Texas, only show themselves a few times a year, in contrast to the counterfeit “strange” lights caused by headlights of cars on a nearby highway. But if those lights are caused by the same general kind of creature as the ropen of Papua New Guinea (large or giant featherless flying creature with a long tail) . . .

Addendum

Late in November, 2010, was published the second edition of the cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America, with one chapter devoted to the mystery of the Marfa Lights and the interpretation of ropen-like bioluminescent flying predators. This extraordinary possibility of living pterosaurs in southwest Texas makes serious scientific investigations worth the effort, even if the bioluminescent predator is eventually found to be only a bird or a bat.

Early in December, 2010, a press release about the Marfa Lights, “Unmasking a Flying Predator in Texas,” spread across the United States, mostly through online news sites. For some readers, this was their first exposure to the possibility of bioluminescent pterosaurs (AKA “pterodactyls”) flying over southwest Texas at night. That press release deals with the specifics of a particular kind of mystery-light sighting: splittings and re-mergings of flying lights, and the potential for bioluminescence in huning bats that catch insects.

Marfa Lights Explanation

When residents of Marfa, Texas, and those in surrounding areas . . . have observed the more mysterious flying lights—many observations over the decades—they recognize an intelligence in the “dances.” A light sometimes will split into two lights and the two will slowly separate for quite a distance, eventually turning back as they approach each other, like in a square dance . . .

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From Chapter Six of the second edition of the cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America:

“Mr. Bunnell the scientist, has lived around Marfa, Texas, for much of his life. In his youth, he had assumed that somebody had already done the research and had explained what caused Marfa Lights, for people had seen them for countless years; how surprising when he found that nobody had come up with a convincing explanation! (James Bunnell, apparently, knew nothing about ropens in New Guinea; he considered only Marfa Lights interpretations involving light-sources non-living. I communicated with him by emails, early in 2010.)”

Read about this amazing new cryptozoological interpretation of the Marfa Lights of Texas.

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Second edition of Live Pterosaurs in America, nonfiction cryptozoology book by Jonathan David Whitcomb

Published by Createspace, November 20, 2010

146 pages, with an extensive index for researchers

ISBN-13:  9781456341350

“Scott Norman did not believe he would see a living pterosaur, as he sat alone, taking his turn watching the night sky. A bird is what his friends had probably seen. But at 2:00 a.m., less than forty feet away, what flew over the shed was no bird. The head alone was about four feet long; the head crest, two feet long, like that of a Pteranodon.”