cryptozoology – Page 2 – Pterosaur Eyewitness

October 25, 2010December 2, 2010

Pterosaurs in Kansas and Arkansas

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]

September 11, 2010February 2, 2012

Marfa Lights in Texas

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.”

August 9, 2010September 8, 2014

Bulverism and Pterosaur Sightings

What is bulverism? C. S. Lewis had many insights into human nature. He invented the term “bulverism” for a fault he noticed becoming common in the mid-twentieth century: pointing out one or more supposed weaknesses in ones opponent rather than engaging in reasoning on the subject at hand. I believe the popularity of bulverism has continued into the twenty-first century.

Some time ago, the respected cryptozoologist Loren Coleman wrote a blog page about my investigations of reports of apparent living pterosaurs in the United States. Comments poured in, mostly negative towards the possibility that eyewitnesses were seeing actual pterosaurs. Coleman himself ran off topic, with several paragraphs about John C. Whitcomb’s book (I am not closely related to that author, although I happen to have enjoyed reading his book) and then writing:

You will note that in Jonathan Whitcomb’s new publicity campaign, he is downplaying his American Old Testament religious and Young Earth Creationist (YEC) motivations, and, instead, calling himself a “cryptozoologist.” [This Coleman wrote in August of 2009, but my cryptozoological research began in 2003; I didn’t notice that I had started any “new publicity campaign.” And I have not been a YEC in the strict sense, although I believe in Young Earth Life (there is a difference)]

Loren Coleman (not to be confused with the cryptozoologist Nathaniel Coleman) then says:

“According to Whitcomb, a substantial number are not from hoaxes, insanity, or misidentifications; they are most likely living pterosaurs,” says their press release. Wherein lies the insanity here?

Indeed, Loren, where does insanity lie? When many eyewitnesses testify of things coorelating, and those persons show that they are mentally healthy, where is there any insanity? Setting aside bulverism, what case can be made for pterosaur extinction when so many eyewitnesses testify that pterosaurs still live? If there is any insanity, it must be in those who insist on imagining ancient extinctions. Dogmatic adherence to universal pterosaur extinction may be the only place left where insanity might be relevant. Note, I don’t insist that my opponents must be insane; that would be bulverism. I only ask, “Where is there any insanity?”

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LDS Author definition of bulverism