What is a ropen?

Pterosaurs Still Living

What is a Ropen?

Many Westerners have been taught the axiom of universal extinction of all pterosaurs and dinosaurs (millions of years ago) is if it were proven. Before dismissing the idea that Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs are still living, consider the eyewitness testimonies, please.

The following compilations of eyewitness testimony and

second-hand or other accounts, are supplemented by the conclusions of Jonathan Whitcomb. It seems at least two types of long-tailed pterosaurs live in the Southwest Pacific, although there may be a sub-species variations. Reports of smaller creatures (under three meters wingspan) in the Manus Island area of Papua New Guinea, might be juveniles of the same species as the larger creatures to the south.

For now, we will continue to use the name by which it is known on Umboi Island: “ropen.”

It is mostly nocturnal; a few reports of daylight flights

(1, 2, 3, 14, 24) provide much of what we know about it.

There is only one large ropen living continuously on Umboi Island, but many live on the mainland of Papua New Guinea. The Umboi ropen is an older adult, that has staked out this island as its territory. This is not likely the same individual that was reported on Umboi Island in 1949. (11) (grave robbery witnessed by Michael of Opai) It is likely this island is ideal for the species and an older individual will stake it out as its territory.

With hundreds of languages in P.N.G., it is expected

that a real living creature would have different names

among various societies in these islands. This is the

case, with some of the names being ropen, duwas,

kundua, seklobali, indava, and wawanar.

Described like a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur, it lives in

some tropical areas of the Southwest Pacific. (13,14, 18

19, 21) It’s main diet is fish or other oceanic life that it

catches at night with the aid of a bioluminescence that

attracts fish. (11) This bioluminescence is under at least

some control by the creature. Another food source is carrion. (On Umboi Island, it used to be attracted to funeral gatherings, before coffins were used.) (11, 19, 20, 21) It is also reported to carry giant clams into mountains where it feeds on them (18), but this idea (Woetzel-Guessman expedition) needs additional investigation.

The glow of the ropen when it flies over land is the most common manifestation of its existence.(6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 21, 23) There’s also a glow that it uses to attract fish or other sea creatures to the surface of the sea at night. (11) These two cases of light emission may or may not be of the same degree of luminosity. (unknown) It is possible that the brief glow of the ropen over land is of the same type or intensity

as it is over the water.

On Umboi, the light emission is brief: about five to six

seconds. (4,5,18) It begins instantaneously and may

end quickly (4) or decrease gradually (5) until the

light is gone. One local man says the ropen’s light

is never on for more than 5-6 seconds. (18) It’s used

over the sea (4) or near the beach (5) but it is often

seen over land against a mountain background.

The mouth of the ropen has been described by one

witness (1) as like a crocodile. (That is, it resembles

the mouth of a crocodile compared with other life

on or near Umboi Island) (Gideon’s testimony is

generally supported by 2 and 3) Others describe it as resembling a bill somewhat similar to pelican's. (21)

It should be noted that the mouth of a crocodile has

some general similarity to the beak of a pelican in

that it is relatively long and narrow. The presence or

absence of teeth is rarely noticed.

The ropen has no feathers. (1,13,19)

It is faster than birds but slower than airplanes. (12,18)

Some are brown (1,22), “black or dark brown” (24), or a light reddish tan, (13), such as a dark or dark-grayish with dark bluish spots on Umboi Island (21). Outside Umboi Island, some are tan brown with dark spots. (21)

One eyewitness indicates the length of the tail is similar

to the wingspan. (1) This, however, may be due to a misunderstanding of the English “wingspan.” Around Australia, the body may be a bit shorter than the tail (13)

Some say the tail has a “diamond” or flange-shaped

structure. (1,2,3,21) while others have not noticed

any such detail but suggest it ends in a point. (15)

This difference in testimony is most likely due to a

difference in point-of-view. When the creature is seen

from another perspective, the flange is not visible as

such. (or at least it’s not as obvious a structure)

One tradition in the north-central part of Umboi Is.

was related to David Woetzel and Garth Guessman,

regarding the tail of the ropen. When questioned on

whether or not the tail could move, they were told

that it was always straight but that it could move

at the base where the tail connects to the body. This

correlates precisely with the biology of the tails of

Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs. They cannot move

except by a few vertebrae closer to the tail base.

There are bumps or ridges on the tail (1, 15) and

from the back of the head, over the neck and back (1).

The wings have some resemblance to the wings of

the Flying Fox bat. (1,21) The local people are very

much aware of this bat. (AKA “blak bokus” in the

Tok Pisin language or “byung” on Umboi Island)

There is no confusion between it and the ropen.

Some eyewitnesses have noticed an appendage

coming out the back of the head. (14, 15, 21)

The ropen has “hands” half-way up the wings. (21)

At a close to moderate distance, larger ones are very

frightening to local people. (1, 2, 3, 16, 17, 21)

On Umboi Is., it has a wingspan of “seven meter”.(1)

One seen over Perth, Australia in 1997 had a wing-

span of “30-50” feet. (13) One sighting in 1944 near

Finschhafen, PNG: a wingspan close to 26-29 feet.

(14, 22) Some in northern PNG are smaller, (21) with wingspans of 3-6 feet. It is possible that these smaller

creatures may be a different species of pterosaur, but

it seems more likely they are juvenile ropens.

The ropen of Umboi Island sometimes flies over the

villages of Gomlongon and Opai. (11, 19) It travels

between the south coast of the island and Mt. Bel

and between mountains. It also goes to the northern

coast where it’s reported on a particular tree. (18)

It has been seen to hold itself onto the trunk of a tree

in an upright position. (19) This may be one of the

reasons that local legends refer to the ropen as being

like a man or changing into a man. Young boys and

men climb coconut trees by using a similar technique

of holding onto the tree trunk. Aside from humans,

probably the only living thing with two legs that is

seen to hold onto a tree trunk, in an upright position,

on Umboi Island, is the ropen.

Although the ropen living on Umboi Island does not

seem to be much of a threat to humans, there have

been reports of attacks on people in other areas of

Papua New Guinea. One man died while trying to

catch a ropen. After he found it sleeping on a beach,

he tried to snare it with his fishing net. (19) Another

man died when he was attacked in his garden. (21)

A number of the local villagers witnessed his body

being eaten by the creature after they arrived to see

what the noise was about. (21) The creatures that

are darker in color may be more aggressive. (21)

At least seven Americans have explored Umboi Island

(and/or other islands of PNG) in search of ropens

since the early 1990’s. One of the earliest was near

a small island in the northern part of PNG. In 1996

the missionary Jim Blume saw a small glowing form

in the night, on a hill overlooking a mangrove swamp.

This is assumed to have been one of the smaller of

the creatures reported to live in the Manus Island area,

though the form was vague. (21)

David Woetzel saw the ropen-light briefly in 2004.

Paul Nation videotaped the “indava” light late in 2006,

on the mainland, northwest of Port Moresby. The video

footage was analyzed by a missile defense physicist, Cliff Paiva: There was no common-place explanation

for the videotaped lights. (See Contents of the report.)

These pages are sponsored by

Whitcomb Video Productions

Pterosaurs Home

New book

Whitcomb expedition

Terrified by Pterodactyl

Eyewitness credibility

The ropen is a living pterosaur, not a bat

Whitcomb drew the mouth and

head and eye. Gideon approved

the general appearance of it and

continued drawing the “bumps”.

A frightening child-

hood experience

Beginning of the sketch done by

the interviewer, J. Whitcomb as

a starting point for elaboration

by the eyewitness, Gideon

Gideon continued drawing

the body and wings. Details

are not likely accurate as he

is not a realistic artist.

David Moke, of Opai

Village, described to

Whitcomb the five-

second flash of light

that has also been re-

ported on the north side of Umboi Island.

From descriptions and answers

to questionnaire (from U.S. vet)

30-50 foot “size”:

creature over Perth

comment ropens.com

updated July 27, 2007

Why it is so difficult to obtain

photo or video evidence

Background of this research

and how the evidence points

to the ropen as being a living

pterosaur in the S.W. Pacific

The ropen may be

closely related to

the kongamato of

Central Africa.

(kongomato?)

Some researchers believe

that dinosaurs have lived

alongside humans in the

past. Others believe that

dinosaurs still live in some

remote areas of the earth.

This research is a special

branch of cryptozoology.

See this introduction

to the ropen at:

www.ropens.com/