Welcome to “Live Pterosaur” Live Pterosaur Book Revolutionary as they seem, the ideas presented in  this "Live Pterosaur" site relate mostly to eyewitness  accounts: real-life encounters with creatures called  “prehistoric” or “pterodactyl-like.” Expect few  references to fossils. Enter these pages with an open  mind and compare points of view. Whether you  consider yourself an evolutionist or creationist, or just  a curiositist, you might find yourself sympathizing with  at least one of the ideas. If you leave this site  disbelieving in living pterosaurs, however, know that  some people do believe in living pterosaurs:  Intelligent, educated people can disbelieve in total  extinction of pterosaurs. And the investigations that  changed their beliefs are for real: expeditions and  analysis of the results of those expeditions (mostly in  Papua New Guinea).     These pages differ from other sites on living pterosaurs. A  Live Pterosaur page may have two eyewitness accounts  for comparison. You decide how they relate. Another page  may have two or three points of view on the same data.  You decide what to believe about eyewitnesses and  expeditions. Isn’t that approach better?   Where to start? For an introduction to the theories and  philosophies at the foundations of divergent points of view  on live “pterodactyls,” see Theories     Coming to know what species of pterosaurs still live and  also coming to understand the great abundance of life and  the limits of old extinction ideas—that is the purpose of  Live Pterosaur. AKA Pterodactyls Live Pterosaur Living Pterosaur Investigations In 2007, a missile defense physicist, Cliff Paiva, did a  thorough image-processing analysis of the video that  was recorded by Paul Nation, late in 2006, deep in the  interior of the mainland of Papua New Guinea.  The two lights in that video were strange indeed: not  car headlights, not flashlights, not camp fires, not  meteors, in fact nothing ordinary. On the other hand,  eyewitnesses describe a giant flying creature.  Paul Nation’s Indava Expedition An Adventure in Cryptozoology An eyewitness of a long-tailed living pterosaur on the island of Bougainville, New Guinea, in 1971, Mr. Brian Hennessy, who is originally from Australia, is not crazy. In fact, Hennessy is a psychologist. "'There is more in heaven and earth . . . than is dreamt of in your philosophy.' There is more purpose in the universe and more life in a forest than is taught from a textbook. To those who've seen a live pterosaur, 'extinction' pales before experience. Truth emerges." (Jonathan David Whitcomb) "The great majority of Americans who explored in Papua New Guinea, searching for living pterosaurs, have believed in the Bible in a similar way to how Galileo and Isaac Newton believed in it." Critics Answered The above are quotations from the third edition of the cryptozoology book “Live Pterosaurs in America,” by Jonathan David Whitcomb Cryptozoology Book “Live Pterosaurs in America” “This book might make a few Americans uneasy to  walk alone at night; my intention, however, is not to  frighten but to enlighten . . . about live-pterosaur  investigations. Those who’ve been shocked at the  sight of a flying creature that “should” be  extinct—those eyewitnesses, more numerous than  most Americans would guess, need no longer be  afraid that everyone will think them crazy, and no  longer need they feel alone. Those of us who’ve  listened to the American eyewitnesses, we who  have interviewed them, we now believe. So, if you  will, consider the experiences of these ordinary  persons (I’ve interviewed most of them myself) and  accept whatever enlightenment you may.” Third Edition of LPA: Introduction “I realize that somebody may suggest the  eyewitness saw only a model pterosaur; mechanical  “pterodactyls” are common. Several details rule out  this explanation. The size of the creature was  estimated by its appearance when it flew over the  road at low altitude; I doubt that he saw a 30-foot-  long model. In addition, it was flying from a fenced-  off marshy area off-limits to the general public; I  doubt that any model-pterodactyl enthusiast would  choose that marsh for launching a giant model. And  why would a it be flown low over a road into a  wooded area that was bordered by tall buildings? Its  hard to imagine a worse place to fly a model. Only  ideal launching and landing places would justify the  expense of building a giant model airplane; this  place had neither. Other factors eliminate this  model-explanation, but I later found out why a  living ropen might fly there.”   (from page 18)     Giant Pterosaur in Southern California “Live Pterosaurs in America” may be the first nonfiction book written about modern pterosaurs living in the U.S.A. The new third edition is expanded. Live Pterosaurs and Evolution The impact of the discovery of living pterosaurs on standard-model evolution Major sites about living pterosaurs (also known as "pterodactyls") This is probably the oldest continuous online site  about eyewitness reports of living pterosaurs. Much  of this relates to the ropen of Papua New Guinea,  but it also includes sightings in other areas.  Pterosaurs Still Living The second edition of the nonfiction book on live  pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea will be replaced by  the third edition, which will be retitled “Searching  for Dragons.” (much expanded, too) Searching for Ropens Paul Nation The two long-tailed pterosaurs seen by the U.S. Marine Eskin C. Kuhn, in clear daylight, in Cuba, in 1971, may be related to the ropen of Papua New Guinea. See Cuba Pterosaur “Umboi Island has become famous as the home of  the pterosaur-like creature that the natives call  ‘ropen.’ American explorers who have visited Umboi,  searching for the creature, have included Carl Baugh  and Paul Nation (of Texas), and Jonathan Whitcomb  and Garth Guessman (of California), and David  Woetzel (of New Hampshire).” Living Pterosaur Psychologist Sees a Pterosaur Sketch by Eskin Kuhn San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary, Orange County, California near where an eyewitness saw a giant flying creature The first American to bring back significant evidence for the bioluminescence of indavas Brian Hennessy Jonathan Whitcomb The American crypto- zoologist Jonathan D. Whitcomb interviewed Hennessy, by emails, in 2006, and found the  psychologist to be very credible. “The boy was walking from one mud-brick hut to  another, one night in 1988 . . . he noticed  something on the roof of his uncle’s hut. A creature  was perched on the edge of the roof, lit up by the  nearby porth light. The winged creature appeared to  be four-to-five feet tall, olive brown, and leathery  with no feathers. A ‘long bone looking thing’ stuck  out the back of its head; its long tail somehow  reminded the boy of the tail of a lion . . . ”   Kongamato of Africa “The kongamato is sometimes compared with the  ropen of Papua New Guinea or the long-tailed  pterosaur seen in Eastern Cuba in the mid-20th  century. This kind of cryptid has been reported in  many parts of the world, including North America,  Australia, Europe, and Africa.”   Kongamato Pterodactyl “Before the ship arrived on Umboi (Siassi), Luke and  I met an old sailor who knew something about what  we were seeking. "You want to catch Wawanar?" he  asked.” Apparent Living Pterosaurs In some areas of Papua New Guinea, some natives  create wooden carvings of what seem to be giant  flying creatures, perhaps even dragons.  Living Pterosaurs and Dragons Native art and ropens Referring to the 33,000 ceramic clay figurines  discovered around 1945, in Acambaro, Mexico, “. . .  during the years since their discovery the  advancement of scientific findings has changed  opinions about the appearances of dinosaurs,  including appearances of dinosaurs that seem to be  on some figurines. Those figurines, discovered in  the mid-20th Century, resemble late-20th Century  scientific opinions of those dinosaurs more than  they resemble early-or-mid-20th Century scientific  opinions.” Those ceramic clay figurines deserve  more serious consideration by scientists.   Dinosaurs Alongside Humans “The Marfa Lights of southwest Texas have been  compared with the flying lights of Papua New  Guinea and with the Wawanar legend near  southwest New Britain Island. The Wawanar is  believed by some cryptozoologists to be the same  flying creature that the natives of nearby Umboi  Island call ‘ropen.’   “Dragons in southwest Texas? If a new conjecture  about Marfa Lights is correct, a group of  bioluminescent flying predators may live in these  mountains, visiting the Marfa area every few weeks.”   Dragons, Dinosaurs, and Pterosaurs Photo by Garth Guessman Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 Jonathan Whitcomb Photograph by Jonathan Whitcomb Explorers As of early 2012, three nonfiction cryptozoology books about living  pterosaurs in North America were available from three different authors:  Ken Gerhard, Gerald McIsaac, and Jonathan David Whitcomb   In Papua New Guinea, the America missionary Jim   Blume interviews a native, asking him about the   strange light that came down to rob a grave years ago.   Paul Nation and native guide, crossing a river on the   island of Umboi, east of the mainland of New Guinea