Pterodactyls Are they still alive? Can reports of flying dragons be more than legends? Pterosaurs Still Living Pterosaur Extinction Pterodactyls Still Living? Why no Photo? “Pterodactyl-like” Does a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur still live? Introduction to Living Pterodactyls (technically correct: “pterosaurs”) Pterosaurs, the technically correct name for what many call “pterodactyls,” are known by Western scientists through their fossils. Textbooks and children’s books declare that they all became extinct many millions of years ago. (A common phrase is “by 65 million years ago.”) But where is the evidence for the extinction of all pterosaurs? Why do so many publications proclaim their ancient demise, yet fail to give any solid reason for the belief that all members of all species died? Are some pterodactyls still living? That idea is controversial, to be sure, for where is the photo to prove such a bold idea? But wait a moment. What does photography have to do with it? Where is photographic evidence that every kind of pterodactyl became extinct millions of years ago? The fossils say nothing about extinction. Those fossils only show that the creatures once lived. A fossil tells us that one particular organism once lived and died. Photographing and analyzing fossils has nothing to do with extinction. So what is this controversy about living pterodactyls?  The cryptozoology book Searching for Ropens  explains the widespread Western belief in universal pterosaur extinction. It is not at all complimentary to “standard models” but seems to expose a superstitious nature within the belief in “universal pterosaur extinction.” It seems that human nature often causes bias when a person’s philosophy is involved. The book declares that Darwin’s General Theory of Evolution is based on philosophical axioms or assumptions. The idea that all dinosaurs and pterosaurs became extinct many millions of years ago may have actually come from desires to shore up a particular philosophy, namely atheism. That idea is controversial, and how! Do old legends of dragons come from encounters with living pterosaurs? Many reports of living pterosaurs could not all have been influenced by old legends or by superstition. In modern times, similar reports come from many eyewitnesses of different cultural and language backgrounds: Australians, North Americans, Europeans, and natives of third-world countries. What is the bioluminescence of the ropen? Does it relate to old legends of fire-breathing dragons? Many ancient peoples (& many modern natives) would assume that a glow at night comes from fire. Perhaps the legend of the "Wawanar" (a legend of a flying dragon talked about in the Pilio Island area south of West New Britain Island in Papua New Guinea) comes from sightings of the ropen, for "ropen" is the name used on Umboi Island, just west of West New Britain (natives call Umboi “Siassi”). And is "duwas" another name (in another native language) for the same flying creature (ropen)? Perhaps this dragon is more than just a legend. (By the way, “duah” is probably a distortion of the word “duwas.”) How do Mesozoic strata relate to live pterosaurs? Circular reasoning results from trying to use the “Mesozoic objection” as if it were evidence against modern extant pterosaurs. Most fossils have no direct way of being dated, without extensive use of assumptions based on Darwin’s General Theory of Evolution (GTE). And how does all this relate to Creation versus Evolution? That is a deep subject. New Britain Island Sightings  According to one news report (use the link above on “pterodactyl-like”), strange featherless flying creatures fly over a valley in the center of New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea. Those large flying creatures have pointed head crests and "leathery" skin. They were seen to fly, sometimes in single file (according to Jon Whitcomb's book Searching for Ropens), toward the coast, maybe to catch fish. If the report is true, these would be Pterodactyloids (short-tailed pterosaurs). Umboi Island Sightings Also, according Searching for Ropens, some of the eyewitnesses report a creature described like a long-tailed (Rhamphorhynchoid) pterosaur; some witnesses have even seen a nocturnal ropen in daylight. On  Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, they call it “ropen,” but other tribes on other islands have different names. Ropens appear to eat fish or clams, but they're said to have eaten more than just sea food: Many years ago, Michael, an old man interviewed by Whitcomb on Umboi Island, in 2004, saw it come to a human grave and dig up the body of the recently deceased man. In 2004, Jonathan David Whitcomb, an American forensic videographer visited Umboi Island and interviewed many native eyewitnesses, including Michael of Opai Village. Another man recounted his sighting of a ropen as it flew low over the surface of a reef at the southern part of Umboi, apparently trying to catch fish by using its bioluminescent glow. David Moke eyewitness account  “David Moke and Peter Luke . . . were fishing, using the local custom of attracting fish with a ‘diving torch.’” World War II Veteran’s Sighting Searching for Ropens has one chapter devoted to the sighting report of an American World War II veteran, Duane Hodgkinson. In 1944, he entered a jungle clearing not far from Finschhafen, New Guinea. A large "pterodactyl" flew into the air and circled the clearing, giving a clear view of its features. The veteran was interviewed in 2005, by Garth Guessman, and still maintained that he saw a “pterodactyl.” It's interesting to note that the man is a flight instructor with over 13,000 hours of flight experience. Perth Creature  Another chapter of the book Searching for Ropens  is devoted to a sighting by a married couple as they were strolling along a highway near Perth, Australia. According to the wife: . . . “we do know that it was definitely a living creature . . . I never believed these things existed until that night.” . . .  The husband gave more details about the huge apparent pterosaur:  . . . “estimated the size to be in excess of thirty foot, possibly as great as fifty foot. My eyes told me it was nearer the greater of these, my rational mind wants me to believe the lesser, since either of these is astoun- ding for a flying creature” . . . 2004 Expedition by Jonathan Whitcomb Several chapters of the book are devoted to the 2004 expedition of the author,  Jonathan David Whitcomb. He left the mainland of Papua New Guinea (city of Lae) with his interpreter. They sailed to Umboi Island, where they searched for ropens and later interviewed many native eyewitnesses. But what kind of evidence is that? (Aren’t natives superstitious?) The point is this: Islanders who have seen the ropen do not recite legends or superstitious stories; they simply tell the investigators what they saw. On Umboi Island, Whitcomb estimates hundreds of people have seen the ropen. Although most of them have only seen a distant fleeting view, a few have seen it up close. These are the eyewitness testimonies of a living creature whose description suggests a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. Could a fish-eating pterodactyl still live on planet earth? How intriguing! Giant Pterosaur observed near Irvine, California Bioluminescence of modern pterosaurs Dinosaurs Alongside Humans In the spring of 2012, the cryptozoologist and author Jonathan Whitcomb was interviewed in Long Beach, California, for a Canadian television talk show. Whitcomb has interviewed many eyewitnesses of living pterosaurs. The reports come from around the world. Superstition and ropens? Dragons and Pterosaurs New Britain Creature “Pterodactyl” sighting, in daylight, in a wildlife sanctuary in California Copyright 2004-2012 Jonathan Whitcomb Two “pterodactyls” seen in SE Cuba