Rhamphorhynchoid Tail Structure

Modern pterosaur eyewitnesses often report a structure at the end of the long tail of the flying creature, with different witnesses using different words for the structure:

• diamond (many sightings, including Michigan, 2007)
• lemon shape (Indiana, about 2006)
• sail (Texas, about 1982)
• spade (Kentucky, 2008)
• spike (New Mexico, 1993)
• triangle-shaped (California, 2007 and 2012)

Among scientists, the word “vane” is used for that structure (on pterosaur fossils) at the end of many of the long tails, although some use the word ”flange.” Among non-scientists, the word “Rhamphorhynchoid” is little-known, but it refers to what paleontologists call the “basal” pterosaurs.

Orientation of Tail Vane

In the book The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs, by Peter Wellnhofer, the work of Othniel Charles Marsh (nineteenth century) is mentioned regarding tail vane orientation:

“A particular controversy developed around [terminal tail vane orientation] . . . vertically or horizontally? Was it to be interpreted as intended to control height or sideways movement? [In airplane principle-axes terminology, a flap parallel to the ground surface controls pitch; a flap oriented like ship rudders controls yaw.] Marsh oriented it . . . vertically as he had noticed a slight asymmetry in the outline. Later for aerodynamic reasons it was seen as a height control and oriented horizontally. But several indications suggest that Marsh was right after all.”

Eyewitnesses, however, seem to show that Marsh was wrong. The tail vanes of modern pterosaurs, according to three eyewitnesses, are oriented horizontally, allowing the long-tailed flying creatures to change direction up and down. Plane pilots call this “pitch control.”

Three eyewitness make it clear how the tail flange is oriented for modern Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs.

1. Sandra Paradise — I spoke with Sandy by phone two days ago, bringing up the tail-vane orientation with no warning. Without hesitation she informed me, making it clear that she had seen the tail-end structure oriented horizontally, parallel to the surface of the road on which she was driving.
2. Patty Carson — She was sure about the orientation of the long tail on the “dinosaur” that flew away from her and her brother, in 1965 at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She let me know that there was no doubt: horizontal. I continued questioning her to be sure there was no misunderstanding, she confirmed it.
3. Anonymous Eyewitness — The lady who saw the “pterodactyl” in her backyard, on June 19, 2012, in Lakewood, only a few miles from my house in Long Beach, California,  answered my many questions. When we got to the subject of tail vane orientation, she had no doubt that it was horizontal. And her nose was less than twenty feet from that particular tail vane.

Sketch drawn by the eyewitness Sandra Paradise, who was sure of horizontal tail-flange orientation—she also gave many details about the tail

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Crude sketch drawn by an eyewitness of a modern pterosaur seen in Virginia

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Statistics on Pterosaur Tails

The latest analysis from the data collected from 128 sighting reports (chosen because they appeared more likely than not to have been from actual encounters with modern pterosaurs) reveals the following about pterosaur tails:

For the total sightings (128), 41% included reference to a long tail but only 2% referred to the absence of a long tail. Of the 128 reports, about 28% included reference to something at the end of the tail, something suggesting a Rhamphorhynchoid tail vane.

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Some of the data from 24 of the 128 chosen sighting reports of living pterosaurs worldwide—includes #5 long tail, and #14 tail flange

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The Truth of Tall Tails

Why do so many “pterodactyl” sighting reports involve apparent Rhamphorhynchoid tails (long, often seen with a “diamond” or “spade” or similar shape at the tail end)? Most modern pterosaurs, apparently, are long tailed.

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Ropen Sighting in Florida

. . . a tail as long as its torso with a large bulb or lump at the tail very diamond shaped . . .

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The strange creature flew gracefully over the highway, right in front of the car Susan Wooten was driving to Florence, South Carolina. Other drivers stopped their cars on the side of the road (in the general area of Bishopville) but Susan drove on, for she was following a friend and did not want to be separated from her. But what a creature it was!

According to this eyewitness, “It looked as big as any car, and had NO feathers, not like a huge crane or egret. . . . it swooped down over the highway and back up gracefully over the pines.” Years later, she learned of my investigations and reported her sighting. I have since interviewed her several times by email and she has convinced me that she saw basically what she described. I believe it was similar to the ropen of Papua New Guinea: a giant Rhamphornynchoid pterosaur.

Large long-tailed pterosaurs do not seem to be confined to South Carolina, however. I have also interviewed an eyewitness of two similar creatures in Georgia. They appeared to be of the same species, (but not necessarily the same species as the South Carolina pterosaur) seen on different mornings, and both were large, but they were not the same size; that is how the eyewitness concluded that there were two. Contrary to other descriptions of long-tailed pterosaurs, however, these two had rather fat tails and rather fat flanges at the end of their tails.

More about the South Carolina Pterosaur Sighting

More about Pterosaurs in Georgia

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Did you know that living pterosaurs have been reported in North America, even in the United States? Yes! Get the details of many eyewitness sighting reports  by purchasing a copy of this nonfiction book on Amazon.

Learn much more about the South Carolina sighting by Susan Wooten. But this cryptozoology book is packed with many more sightings, eyewitness encounters from across the United States: California, New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, and many more states.

“The problem with science is that we think we know it all and that is far from reality. This book shows courage to continue the search. If you have an interest in cryptozoology you should read this.” Dale Reeder, Pennsylvania

For many weeks [first edition], this has been the best-selling nonfiction book (Amazon.com) about living pterosaurs. It is in pure cryptozoology genre, unlike some books about modern living pterosaurs and dinosaurs, with exciting observations by shocked eyewitnesses. Find out for yourself why many Americans are awakening to the knowledge that these creatures still fly, not just in remote jungles but right here in the United States.

[The third edition of this nonfiction cryptozoology book was published in November of 2011]

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Long Beach Child Care Services (California daycare, licensed)

I interviewed Aaron Tullock by email in January of this year. I delayed publishing his account until I had established a firm credibility base for this eyewitness, for part of his description of the apparent pterosaur differs from other accounts: The long-tailed flying creature was mostly colored orange and black.

Late in the afternoon of a day with “only a few clouds,” eight-year-old Aaron was looking around the yard of his grandparents’ home. Something flew over his head (coming from behind him, so he could not have seen it coming) and stopped by hovering eight feet above the ground.

The creature flew away before the boy’s mother entered the yard, and she discounted the encounter as a combination of a bird and a child’s imagination. His young age might seem to count against his credibility, but he reported many details that count against this coming from the imagination of an eight-year-old. A number of factors count against any hoax with this account. The long tail with a Rhamphorhynchoid-like shape at the end, together with absence of feathers—these count against any misidentification involving a bird or bat. What’s left except “Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur?”

I’ll give this more attention before I write the second edition of Live Pterosaurs in America. (The 2nd edition might not be published before early 2011.)

More: Giant Rhamphorhynchoid flies over Lake Pung, Papua New Guinea

If my memory of a few Old Testament scriptures serves me correctly, I just realized something about comparing the “fiery flying serpent” of the Bible with the ropen of Papua New Guinea. Whatever the species of snake-like animal that terrorized the people of Moses long ago (I believe it was a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur), it may be a different species than what has terrorized natives of Umboi Island in more recent years. Where in the Old Testament does it mention anything about a giant size?

The subject comes up because of this post on the Bible and Modern Pterosaurs blog: New View on the Fiery Flying Serpent. The ancient Israelites were terrorized because of the venom of this creature (something like a flying snake), not because of the size. (The giant size of the Galapagos Tortoise comes to mind, although this might not be directly related to the giant size of the ropen of Umboi.) Nevertheless, the combination of brilliant bioluminescence and winged flight ties together these two interpretations, this meaning of ancient scriptures and modern eyewitness testimonies.

For those interested less in biology and more in scriptural significance (quote from The Bible and Modern Pterosaurs):

“Another problem with the snake interpretation strikes me to the heart. What is the usual symbolism here? Who does the snake usually represent in the Old and New Testament?  Satan, of course. Does it seem likely that a true serpent would be used to symbolize Jesus Christ? If the “fiery flying serpent” were a snake, Moses would have killed one of them and dragged the dead snake on the ground, to symbolize God’s victory over Satan. He would not have given the Israelites the symbol for Satan, to look up to a common snake for healing or salvation.”

For those interested in flying glowing lights in Papua New Guinea: Pterosaur Interpretation of Cheesman Sightings

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Did you know that living pterosaurs have been reported in North America, even in the United States? Read the many eyewitness sighting reports  by purchasing your own copy of this nonfiction book Live Pterosaurs in America. It explains the true nature of the controversay: not “science versus religion” but one philosophy versus another (in book appendix); nevertheless, this is a cryptozoology book, not a religious book. (Photo on the left is of the cover of the first edition. The book is now in its third edition, greatly expanded from the original.)