Pterosaurs
Still Living
Bioluminescence in the Ropen
The glow of modern pterosaurs, at least in some species of the ones with long tails
Bioluminescent Organisms in General
Perhaps the most mysterious case of bioluminescence is the five-to-six-second flash
of the ropen of Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea. This secretive creature is believed,
by some investigators in this field of cryptozoology, to be a living Rhamphorhynchoid
pterosaur. This strange species seems to also live on the mainland of Papua New
Guinea (north of Australia).
This idea of a bioluminescent living pterosaur does not come simply from a few idle
words from a limited number of native eyewitnesses in the southwest Pacific. People
from Western countries have also witnessed the flying lights that are nothing like any
firefly. At least two scientific papers have been written, published in a peer-reviewed
journal of science. One paper is titled “Reports of Living Pterosaurs in the Southwest
Pacific.” The other one is “The Fiery Flying Serpent,” by David Woetzel.
A third scientific paper, “Results of Investigations Concerning Pterosaur Sightings In
Papua New Guinea,” was written by Clifford A. Paiva (BSM Associates) and Harold S.
Slusher (Professor, Physics Department, University of Texas at El Paso). That one was
not published in a journal, but parts of it are available online. Much of it deals with
video footage that was recorded by the explorer Paul Nation: the glow of what may
be two large flying creatures on a ridge deep in the interior of the mainland of Papua
New Guinea. Paul Nation’s expedition was late in 2006.
Those cryptozoologists who specialize in living-pterosaur (LP) investigations believe
that the two lights videotaped by Paul Nation are from two indavas, flying creatures
that may be related to the nocturnal ropen of Umboi Island.
Evelyn Cheesman, a British biologist who went on many expeditions in that area of
the southwest Pacific, observed strange flying lights just north of where Paul Nation
videotaped two indavas. Chessman, however, explored in the early to mid-twentieth
century. She was highly respected, and was honored with the Order of the British
Empire in 1955 because of her contributions to science.
Her investigation of strange flying lights was brief, and she never came to any sure
conclusion about them except that she became convinced that they were not from
any human agency. Only decades later, did cryptozoologists come to understand
that she had probably observed flying creatures related to the indava and ropen,
perhaps even the same species as the ones seen south of her observations on the
mainland of New Guinea.
Copyright 2005-2019 Jonathan David Whitcomb
ver-007
By Jonathan Whitcomb
Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within an organism.
Near the surface of a sea, it is most commonly seen in bow wake, the glowing
waves produced by a boat or ship moving through the water (the organisms are
called dinoflagellates). Deep in the oceans, many creatures use bioluminescence
for various purposes. On the land, perhaps the best know case is in the abdomen
of the firefly.
How long do these bioluminescent flashes last? Dinoflagellates flash for about
a tenth of a second. Some jellyfish make light for quite a few seconds at a time.
Some organisms produce light continuously.
Giant squid use bioluminescence to hunt prey. In 2006, in the northwest Pacific,
Japanese researchers were the first to capture activities of live Giant Squid. They
found that these creatures of the deep make short bursts of bright bioluminescent
light.
There are about two thousand species of fireflies in the world. Each species has its
own pattern: flashing, with a male-initiated flash that is followed by a female’s flash.
In one species, a large female flashes a signal that attracts male fireflies of another
species; when the male approaches, the tricky counterfeiter eats the unlucky male.
The Min Min light of Australia (or at least some of the lights so labeled) have been
credited to certain barn owls that occasionally glow.
Firefly in eastern Canada
Bioluminescence in oceanic jellyfish
Bioluminescent mushrooms
Glow from dinoflagellates in breaking waves
The Glow of the Ropen
Evelyn Cheesman
Paul Nation