Pterosaurs
Still Living
Is the ropen a pterosaur?
Searches for non-extinct “pterodactyls” on Umboi Island and in other areas of Papua New Guinea
By Jonathan Whitcomb About us
Since the early 1990’s, there have been at least nine significant expeditions
to Papua New Guinea to search for ropens and those who’ve seen them.
Some of the Americans who’ve gone there with the idea that the ropen is a
living pterosaur are Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, Jonathan Whitcomb, David
Woetzel, and Garth Guessman.
They’ve gone without the bias of the universal-pterosaur-extinction axiom.
But why have these men gone on such a strange quest, using, for the most
part, personal funds? They believe that a wonderful discovery is unfolding:
the discovery of living pterosaurs, non-extinct!
Why should the ropen be a pterosaur? Could the American investigators
be overly biased in favor of a pterosaur interpretation? Consider the many
testimonies of the eyewitnesses of these flying creatures.
No officially-known bird or bat fits the description of the ropen of Papua
New Guinea; a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur does fit, when we allow for
the possibility that at least one species may be much larger than what has
been known from fossils of Rhamphorhynchoids.
The ropen has a long tail but no feathers, and according to Gideon Koro
(a young man living in Southwest Umboi Island), the length of the tail of the
animal he saw was seven meters long, the wings were similar to those of
the flying fox fruit bat (with no feathers), and the mouth was like that of a
crocodile. It was no bird or bat, and it was alive, not extinct.
In addition, extinctions of all species of pterosaurs is hardly a scientific fact;
it’s an axiom (foundational assumption). In fact, historical records suggest
at least some types of pterosaurs have lived with people in the past, albeit
they were better known by the name dragon.
Contrary to some of the earliest speculative criticisms, the ropen is not a
fruit bat. The flying fox bat does not have a tail 23 feet long, does not have
a bioluminescent glow, does not catch fish on reefs, and does not hold itself
upright on tree trunks. Could it be a strange bird? The ropen as no feathers
and has a tail 23 feet long. It is no bird.
Indava lights videotaped by Paul Nation in Papua New Guinea
in 2006 (likely bioluminescence of flying creatures related to the ropen)
The ropen of Umboi Island
The ropen of Umboi Island is a member of a species that lives throughout
the Southwest Pacific area. They may be rare in one place but have suf-
ficient numbers to maintain a healthy overall population. They seem to be
nocturnal and live in remote areas, but there’s another reason that there
have not been more reports of sightings. Westerners (such as Australians)
who admit seeing a ropen are ridiculed, therefore it discourages the many
eyewitnesses from letting the world know what they have seen. In the rare
case when a person does report such a sighting, it is often dismissed as
something other than a pterosaur—anything but a pterosaur. But why
not consider a living, not extinct, pterosaur? (By the way, you can tell an
LP cryptozoologist about your sighting; report it without fear: Contact)
The following have explored Umboi Island, searching for ropens:
•
Paul Nation (twice, once with his son Nathanael)
•
Jonathan Whitcomb (with Luke Paina in 2004)
•
David Woetzel and Garth Guessman (with Jacob Kepas in 2004)
•
Missionary Jim Blume (with Carl Baugh in the 1990’s)
In addition, cryptozoologists have searched for living pterosaurs in other
areas of Papua New Guinea. In fact, Paul Nation recorded video footage
of two indava lights deep in the mainland of PNG late in 2006.
The flying fox fruit bat differs greatly from
descriptions of the ropen of Papua New
Guinea. Notice the size differences in
particular. The largest bats know are far
too small to cause a misidentification, and
the long tail of the ropen sets it far apart
indeed. (This image is taken from the non-
fiction cryptozoology book Searching for
Ropens and Finding God, 4th edition.)
Searching for Ropens and Finding God may be the first book written specifically
about extant pterosaurs observed worldwide. This nonfiction is by the American
cryptozoologist Jonathan David Whitcomb, and it is now in its fourth edition.
This young man, Mesa Augustin, in
a remote village on Umboi Island,
Answered questions from Jonathan
Whitcomb about the ropen that
he and six others had seen at
Lake Pung ten years earlier.
copyright 2005-2017 Jonathan Whitcomb
It seems that one lone ropen lives on Umboi Island in keeping it as a territory
A typical Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur tail structure
The long tail of the ropen is not a tall tale
Paleontologists who specialize in pterosaur fossils are well aware that the
tails of Rhamphorhynchus species are generally structured in a way that
shows that they would have been stiff. The exception is near the base,
where the tail connects with the body of the animal, where movement is
possible. (See the sketch above, showing the stiff section, and page 51 of
the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs written by Dr. Peter
Wellnhofer and published by Salamander Books, 1991.)
During the second Umboi Island expedition of 2004, Garth Guessman
and David Woetzel interviewed natives, with the help of Pastor Jacob
Kepas. The following is taken from the fourth edition of Searching for
Ropens and Finding God, pages 97-98:
“What about the tail? When asked about its movement, villagers said that
it never bends; Dickson, however, added a critical detail: The tail is stiff
except where it connects to the body. Knowing Rhamphorhynchoid
anatomy, Guessman was thrilled, for pterosaur fossils indicate that the
tail could not bend much except . . . near where it connected to the body.
. . . strong evidence that the ropen is a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur.
How else could the villagers have this tradition about the ropen’s tail,
unless one or more of them had seen a living long-tailed pterosaur?”
Wesley Koro was interviewed, by the
American cryptozoologist and forensic
videographer Jonathan Whitcomb,
during the first of two expeditions on
Umboi Island in 2004. The native told
Whitcomb about the ropen he and six
other boys had seen in daylight as
the creature flew over the surface of
a crater lake. It was obvious to every-
one that the animal was no fruit bat.
This sketch was drawn the eyewitness
Eskin Kuhn, a few minutes after his
encounter with two “pterodactyls” at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1971
American cryptozoologists went on two
expeditions on Umboi Island in the year
2004. Whitcomb led the first one. He
failed to see a ropen but was able to
interview important native eyewitnesses.
Pterosaurs
Still Living
copyright 2005-2017 Jonathan Whitcomb
Is the ropen a pterosaur?
Searches for non-extinct “pterodactyls” on Umboi Island
and in other areas of Papua New Guinea
Indava lights videotaped by Paul Nation in Papua New Guinea
in 2006 (likely bioluminescence of flying creatures related to the ropen)
A typical Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur tail structure
The long tail of the ropen is not a tall tale
Paleontologists who specialize in pterosaur fossils are well aware that the
tails of Rhamphorhynchus species are generally structured in a way that
shows that they would have been stiff. The exception is near the base,
where the tail connects with the body of the animal, where movement is
possible. (See the sketch above, showing the stiff section, and page 51 of
the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs written by Dr. Peter
Wellnhofer and published by Salamander Books, 1991.)
During the second Umboi Island expedition of 2004, Garth Guessman
and David Woetzel interviewed natives, with the help of Pastor Jacob
Kepas. The following is taken from the fourth edition of Searching for
Ropens and Finding God, pages 97-98:
“What about the tail? When asked about its movement, villagers said that
it never bends; Dickson, however, added a critical detail: The tail is stiff
except where it connects to the body. Knowing Rhamphorhynchoid
anatomy, Guessman was thrilled, for pterosaur fossils indicate that the
tail could not bend much except . . . near where it connected to the body.
. . . strong evidence that the ropen is a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur.
How else could the villagers have this tradition about the ropen’s tail,
unless one or more of them had seen a living long-tailed pterosaur?”
By Jonathan Whitcomb About us
Since the early 1990’s, there have been at least nine significant expeditions
to Papua New Guinea to search for ropens and those who’ve seen them.
Some of the Americans who’ve gone there with the idea that the ropen is a
living pterosaur are Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, Jonathan Whitcomb, David
Woetzel, and Garth Guessman.
They’ve gone without the bias of the universal-pterosaur-extinction axiom.
But why have these men gone on such a strange quest, using, for the most
part, personal funds? They believe that a wonderful discovery is unfolding:
the discovery of living pterosaurs, non-extinct!
Why should the ropen be a pterosaur? Could the American investigators
be overly biased in favor of a pterosaur interpretation? Consider the many
testimonies of the eyewitnesses of these flying creatures.
No officially-known bird or bat fits the description of the ropen of Papua
New Guinea; a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur does fit, when we allow for
the possibility that at least one species may be much larger than what has
been known from fossils of Rhamphorhynchoids.
The ropen has a long tail but no feathers, and according to Gideon Koro
(a young man living in Southwest Umboi Island), the length of the tail of the
animal he saw was seven meters long, the wings were similar to those of
the flying fox fruit bat (with no feathers), and the mouth was like that of a
crocodile. It was no bird or bat, and it was alive, not extinct.
In addition, extinctions of all species of pterosaurs is hardly a scientific fact;
it’s an axiom (foundational assumption). In fact, historical records suggest
at least some types of pterosaurs have lived with people in the past, albeit
they were better known by the name dragon.
Contrary to some of the earliest speculative criticisms, the ropen is not a
fruit bat. The flying fox bat does not have a tail 23 feet long, does not have
a bioluminescent glow, does not catch fish on reefs, and does not hold itself
upright on tree trunks. Could it be a strange bird? The ropen as no feathers
and has a tail 23 feet long. It is no bird.
Wesley Koro was interviewed, by the
American cryptozoologist and forensic
videographer Jonathan Whitcomb,
during the first of two expeditions on
Umboi Island in 2004. The native told
Whitcomb about the ropen he and six
other boys had seen in daylight as
the creature flew over the surface of
a crater lake. It was obvious to every-
one that the animal was no fruit bat.
It seems that one lone ropen lives on Umboi Island in keeping it as a territory
The flying fox fruit bat differs greatly from
descriptions of the ropen of Papua New
Guinea. Notice the size differences in
particular. The largest bats know are far
too small to cause a misidentification, and
the long tail of the ropen sets it far apart
indeed. (This image is taken from the non-
fiction cryptozoology book Searching for
Ropens and Finding God, 4th edition.)
The ropen of Umboi Island
The ropen of Umboi Island is a member of a species that lives throughout
the Southwest Pacific area. They may be rare in one place but have suf-
ficient numbers to maintain a healthy overall population. They seem to be
nocturnal and live in remote areas, but there’s another reason that there
have not been more reports of sightings. Westerners (such as Australians)
who admit seeing a ropen are ridiculed, therefore it discourages the many
eyewitnesses from letting the world know what they have seen. In the rare
case when a person does report such a sighting, it is often dismissed as
something other than a pterosaur—anything but a pterosaur. But why
not consider a living, not extinct, pterosaur? (By the way, you can tell an
LP cryptozoologist about your sighting; report it without fear: Contact)
The following have explored Umboi Island, searching for ropens:
•
Paul Nation (twice, once with his son Nathanael)
•
Jonathan Whitcomb (with Luke Paina in 2004)
•
David Woetzel and Garth Guessman (with Jacob Kepas in 2004)
•
Missionary Jim Blume (with Carl Baugh in the 1990’s)
In addition, cryptozoologists have searched for living pterosaurs in other
areas of Papua New Guinea. In fact, Paul Nation recorded video footage
of two indava lights deep in the mainland of PNG late in 2006.
Searching for Ropens and Finding God may be the first book written specifically
about extant pterosaurs observed worldwide. This nonfiction is by the American
cryptozoologist Jonathan David Whitcomb, and it is now in its fourth edition.
This young man, Mesa Augustin, in
a remote village on Umboi Island,
Answered questions from Jonathan
Whitcomb about the ropen that
he and six others had seen at
Lake Pung ten years earlier.
American cryptozoologists went on two
expeditions on Umboi Island in the year
2004. Whitcomb led the first one. He
failed to see a ropen but was able to
interview important native eyewitnesses.
This sketch was drawn the eyewitness
Eskin Kuhn, a few minutes after his
encounter with two “pterodactyls” at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1971
Pterosaurs
Still Living
copyright 2005-2017 Jonathan Whitcomb
Is the ropen a pterosaur?
Searches for non-extinct “pterodactyls” on Umboi Island
and in other areas of Papua New Guinea
A typical Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur tail structure
The long tail of the ropen is not a tall tale
Paleontologists who specialize in pterosaur fossils know that
the tails of Rhamphorhynchus species are generally struc-
tured in a way that shows that they would have been stiff.
The exception is near the base, where the tail connects with
the body of the animal, where movement is possible. (See
the sketch above, showing the stiff section, and page 51 of
the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs written
by Dr. Peter Wellnhofer; published by Salamander Books)
During the second Umboi Island expedition of 2004, Garth
Guessman and David Woetzel interviewed natives, with the
help of Pastor Jacob Kepas. The following is taken from the
fourth edition of Searching for Ropens and Finding God,
pages 97-98:
“What about the tail? When asked about its movement,
villagers said that it never bends; Dickson, however, added
a critical detail: The tail is stiff except where it connects to
the body. Knowing Rhamphorhynchoid anatomy, Guessman
was thrilled, for pterosaur fossils indicate that the tail could
not bend much except . . . near where it connected to the
body. . . . evidence that the ropen is a Rhamphorhynchoid
pterosaur. How else could the villagers have this tradition
about the ropen’s tail, unless one or more of them had seen
a living long-tailed pterosaur?”
Wesley Koro was interviewed, by the
American cryptozoologist and forensic
videographer Jonathan Whitcomb,
during the first of two expeditions on
Umboi Island in 2004. The native told
Whitcomb about the ropen he and six
other boys had seen in daylight as
the creature flew over the surface of
a crater lake. It was obvious to every-
one that the animal was no fruit bat.
By Jonathan Whitcomb About us
Since the early 1990’s, there have been at least nine signifi-
cant expeditions to Papua New Guinea to search for ropens
and those who’ve seen them. Some of the Americans who
have gone there, thinking the ropen is a living pterosaur, are
Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, David Woetzel, Jon Whitcomb, and
Garth Guessman.
They’ve gone without the bias of the universal-pterosaur-
extinction axiom. But why have these men gone on such a
strange quest, using, for the most part, personal funds?
They believe that a wonderful discovery is unfolding: the
discovery of living pterosaurs, non-extinct!
Why should the ropen be a pterosaur? Could the American
investigators be overly biased in favor of a pterosaur inter-
pretation? Consider many testimonies of the eyewitnesses
of these flying creatures.
No officially-known bird or bat fits what is known of the ropen
of Papua New Guinea; a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur does
fit, when we allow for the possibility that at least one species
may be much larger than what has been known from fossils
of Rhamphorhynchoids.
The ropen has a long tail but no feathers, and according to
Gideon Koro (a young man living in Southwest Umboi Island)
the length of the tail of the animal he saw was seven meters
long, the wings were similar to those of the flying fox fruit bat
(with no feathers), and the mouth was like that of a crocodile.
It was no bird or bat, and it was alive, not extinct.
In addition, extinctions of all species of pterosaurs is hardly
a scientific fact; it’s an axiom (foundational assumption). In
fact, historical records suggest at least some types of these
pterosaurs have lived with people in the past, albeit they’re
better known by the name dragon.
Contrary to some of the earliest speculative criticisms, the
ropen is not a fruit bat. The flying fox bat does not have a
tail 23 feet long, does not have a bioluminescent glow, does
not catch fish on reefs, and does not hold itself upright on
tree trunks. Could it be a strange bird? The ropen as no
feathers and has a tail 23 feet long. It is no bird.
It seems that one lone ropen lives on Umboi Island
in keeping it as a territory
The flying fox fruit bat differs greatly from descriptions
of the ropen of Papua New Guinea. Notice the size
differences in particular. The largest bats know are far
too small to cause a misidentification, and the long tail
of the ropen sets it far apart indeed. (This image is
from the nonfiction cryptozoology book Searching for
Ropens and Finding God, 4th edition.)
The ropen of Umboi Island
The ropen of Umboi Island is a member of a species that
lives throughout the Southwest Pacific area. They may be
rare in one place but have sufficient numbers to maintain
a healthy overall population. They seem to be nocturnal
and live in remote areas, but there’s another reason that
there have not been more reports of sightings. Westerners
(such as Australians) who admit seeing one are ridiculed,
therefore it discourages the many eyewitnesses from
letting the world know what they have seen. In the rare
case when a person does report a sighting of a ropen, it
is often dismissed as something other than a pterosaur—
anything but a pterosaur. But why not consider a living,
not extinct, pterosaur? (By the way, you can tell an LP
cryptozoologist what you saw, without fear: Contact)
The following men have explored Umboi Island, searching
for ropens:
•
Paul Nation (twice, once with his son Nathanael)
•
Jonathan Whitcomb (with Luke Paina in 2004)
•
Woetzel and Guessman (with Jacob Kepas in 2004)
•
Missionary Jim Blume (with Carl Baugh in the 1990’s)
Cryptozoologists have searched for living pterosaurs in
other areas of Papua New Guinea. In fact, Paul Nation
recorded video footage of two indava lights deep in the
mainland of PNG late in 2006.
Searching for Ropens and Finding God may be the first book
written specifically about extant pterosaurs observed worldwide.
This nonfiction is by the American cryptozoologist Jonathan
David Whitcomb, and it is now in its fourth edition.
This young man, Mesa Augustin, in
a remote village on Umboi Island,
Answered questions from Jonathan
Whitcomb about the ropen that
he and six others had seen at
Lake Pung ten years earlier.
American cryptozoologists went on two
expeditions on Umboi Island in the year
2004. Whitcomb led the first one. He
failed to see a ropen but was able to
interview important native eyewitnesses.
This sketch was drawn the eyewitness
Eskin Kuhn, a few minutes after his
encounter with two “pterodactyls” at
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1971