Pterosaurs Still Living One of the Oldest Living-Pterosaur Web Sites Pterosaurs Still Living is here to document, then analyze, eyewitness accounts of living pterosaurs or pterosaur-like creatures and to support expeditions and investigations to obtain relevant evidence. Please report any sighting (pterosaur or “pterodactyl-like”) to Jonathan Whitcomb Cuba Pterosaur Umboi Island Eyewitnesses South Carolina Pterosaur Ropen Expeditions Cryptozoology Book Ropen Rhamphorhynchoid Throughout human history, and more recently, come fascinating reports of what may have been living pterosaurs. From “fiery flying serpents” of the Bible ages ago, to strange flying creatures called “dragons” in England and other European countries a few centuries ago, to a huge pterosaur flying across a country highway in South Carolina in 1989, descriptions of these “flying dinosaurs,” commonly called “pterodactyls,” make if obvious that they are non-fictional and non-extinct. Twentieth century and twenty-first century eyewitness testimonies in Papua New Guinea suggest that long-tailed Rhamphorhynchoid  pterosaurs fly overhead at night. Consider many accounts of amazing encounters with creatures described like living pterosaurs, unlike any bat or bird known to science. Some recent reports are from Americans and Australians, including Duane Hodgkinson (a flight instructor and World War II veteran) and Brian Hennessy (a psychologist). The U.S. Marine Eskin Kuhn was stationed at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba, in 1971. One day . . . he saw an amazing sight. In clear view and at close range, he saw two pterosaurs flying together at low elevation. He tried to get another eyewitness to verify what he had seen, but the creatures had flown off before could pull the sergeant out the door. Within hours, Kuhn began sketching what he had witnessed, giving the world his testimony of two wonderful flying creatures. Opai villager was astonished by a bright light over a reef Duane Hodgkinson and his army buddy saw the “pterodactyl” in a jungle clearing: tail 10-15+ feet. “Gitmo Pterosaur” scared two children in Cuba in 1965 Hennessy, from Australia, saw a flying creature that “certainly looked prehistoric,” for it had a long tail, a disproportionally-large head, and no sign of feathers. He’s not crazy, just another eyewitness. But Mr. Brian Hennessy is also a psychologist. Much of the research done from about 1994 till 2005 involved the ropen of Papua New Guinea: At least six Americans participated, beginning in the 1990’s with Carl Baugh of Texas, followed by Paul Nation, and (in 2004) Jonathan Whitcomb, Garth Guessman, and David Woetzel. Jim Blume, many years a missionary in Papua New Guinea, often assisted investigators. Although these six Americans had few sightings, from 1994 through 2005, they interviewed many native eyewitnesses.   Late in 2006, Paul Nation’s expedition, deep in the mountainous interior of the mainland of Papua New Guinea, elevated the credibility of living-pterosaur cryptozoological searching. He videotaped what investigators believe was the bioluminescent glow of one or two living pterosaurs. Within a few weeks, the T.V. show “Destination Truth” expedition team also video- taped a similar light to the east, as it flew over the mainland coast. Late in 2006, American explorer Paul Nation explained to Jonathan Whitcomb how he had witnessed and then videotaped flying lights deep in the mainland of Papua New Guinea. A copy of the video footage was taken by Whitcomb and later analyzed by a missile defense physicist, who eliminated common-place explanations. From about 13 seconds of video footage recorded near Tawa Village (mainland of Papua New Guinea) From 2005 until the present, eyewitness reports in the United States have rivaled those in Papua New Guinea. As some Americans learned about the live- pterosaur investigations in the Southwest Pacific, eyewitnesses of similar flying creatures reported encounters to Jonathan Whitcomb; he analyzed the many accounts and then wrote the non-fiction book Live Pterosaurs in America (expanded third edition, published late in 2011), available on Amazon. One reader of the second edition of this book has said, “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. . . .” A reader of the first edition has said, “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 to make it all more useful. Mostly, the author lets the sightings speak for themselves, which is good. . . .”  Jonathan Whitcomb, in 2004, interviewed many native eyewitnesses of the large nocturnal ropen that flies over Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea Cryptozoology Book - Non-fiction Live Pterosaurs in America, third edition, by cryptozoologist Jonathan David Whitcomb, is sold online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, AbeBooks, and elsewhere The third edition of the true-encounters book is sold on Amazon.com and on other online sites: Suggest retail price, $13.65 (but often for only $9.82 discount sale on Amazon) ISBN-10: 1466292113 ISBN-13: 978-1466292116  Big Bend National Park, in Southern Texas  Coast of Cuba, near Guantanamo Bay  Second Ropen Expedition of 2004 First Umboi Expedition of 2004 With about 800,000 acres, the Big Bend National Park has plenty of room to hide a nocturnal flying creature that would rarely leave a track. Marfa Lights that appear north of the park---those lights fly in strange light-splittings and in light-rejoinings, but only a few times each year. Those glowing flying predators (maybe they're like the ropen) may hunt periodically in various areas in this part of North America, not just around Marfa. Reports of apparent pterosaurs flying around are not restricted to southwest Texas. In Mexico, in areas bordering this part of Texas, eyewitnesses have reported large frightening flying creatures that may be related to the Marfa Lights. "Susan Wooten . . . was driving from Greenville to Florence (South Carolina, about 1989) when she saw a giant creature glide over the highway in front of the car. . . . NO feathers." Other drivers pulled over to the side of the highway that day, but Wooten could not stop and talk with them about the amazing flying creature.   Big Bend National Park  Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Jonathan David Whitcomb Photo of a flying Marfa Light  How marvelous those mysterious flying lights near Marfa, Texas! A brief consideration of the strange characteristics of those "CE-III" mystery lights (so classified by the scientist James Bunnell) makes it clear those lights are not from the night-mirage phenomenon applied to car headlights. CE-III lights can seem to dance or behave in other ways sug- gesting some intelligent purpose to their behavior. What marvelous Marfa Lights! Local residents in this part of Texas have often seen the more mysterious of the flying lights, the ones that could not be car headlights. Those are the mystery lights that behave as if directed by intelligence, and that aspect of the phenomenon cannot be explained well as being non-intelligent. Marfa Lights of Texas Reviews of Live Pterosaurs in America Mountains near Marfa, Texas The U. S. Marine Eskin Kuhn wasn't the only person to have seen a giant flying pterosaur at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the middle of the twentieth century. Patty Carson described what she had seen: "We were walking down near the boat yards, headed home . . . We were walking through that scrub area, and suddenly it sat up, as if it had been eating something or resting. The head and upper part of its body, about a third of the wings at the joint . . . showed. . . . [It was] about thirty feet away . . . It did have a tail and it had a diamond shaped tip . . . The skin was a leathery, brownish reddish color. It had little teeth, a LOT of them." Another Eyewitness of the Gitmo Pterosaur of Cuba Books on Papua New Guinea Press releases on living dinosaurs and pterosaurs Conflict Between Evolution and Creation Resources on pterodactyls, dinosaurs, and dragons Is the ropen of Umboi Island a pterosaur? To Mesa Augustin, of Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, it was terrifying, pterosaur or not. The natives here have only one word for it: "ropen." Other islanders, however, have other names for giant nocturnal flying creatures that glow brightly at night.   Gideon Koro answered many questions “Diamond” shape at the end of the long tail It was around 1994 when the seven “boys” (probably in their early teens) climbed up to Lake Pung. Soon after they had arrived, the ropen flew down to just above the surface of the crater lake. The boys ran home in terror. The American forensic videographer Jonathan Whitcomb interviewed three of the eyewitnesses in 2004.   In his limited English, the eyewitness Wesley Koro told the American that the tail was “long.” When asked what they did on seeing the ropen, Wesley said, “We run home.”   Wooden Carvings in Papua New Guinea Baptist missionary Jim Blume in PNG James Blume has been a missionary in Papua New Guinea for over thirty years. He has assisted a number of American Christian cryptozoologists a number of times in the ropen investigations: reports of apparent living pterosaurs.   How many ropens live on Umboi Island? Mount Sual is one of several mountains where the ropen has been observed. The creature will fly out to the nearest reef to the mountain on which it has slept during the previous day, at least that is the hypothesis for this nocturnal animal that is believed to be a living pterosaur.   World War II Veteran Pterosaurs alive in southwest Pacific Other names and expressions used by eyewitnesses of apparent pterosaurs may include "pterodactyl," "flying dinosaur," "prehistoric bird," "flying creature," "big bird," and "dinosaur bird." Most of those words are technically incorrect; scientifically correct is the word "pterosaur."   Paul Nation, 2002 Umboi Island Expedition Are all pterosaurs extinct?