copyright 2007-2017 Jonathan David Whitcomb
Small island south of Umboi Island in Papua New Guinea
An Umboi native describes a ropen’s flight path
Composite sketches from two sightings
1971, Bougainville (PNG)
1944, Finschhafen (PNG)
Flying Dinosaurs in Papua New Guinea
Could living pterosaurs still fly through the skies? This is an investigation in the realm of cryptozoology.
Introduction by Jonathan Whitcomb From 1994 through 2009, about nine Americans have intermittently (and usually two or three at a time) visited remote islands of Papua New Guinea, searching for flying creatures: living pterosaurs. On Umboi Island, it’s called ropen, but it’s known as duwas and seklo-bali in other local languages in other areas of PNG. Most of the evidence the American explorers have found is native eyewitness testimony. Why have they gone on such a strange search, a quest for discovering a modern pterosaur? About of the explorers have spent personal funds to explore in Papua New Guinea and with some kind of religious purpose. These men have no confidence in Darwin’s General theory of evolution. In fact, the first scientific paper written by Jonathan Whitcomb (one of the American explorers) ends with the conclusion that Darwin’s concept of natural selection actually prevents any long-term ascending evolution from happening. Many textbooks declare that dinosaurs and pterosaurs died out long ago, the last ones becoming extinct by about 65-million years ago. Many persons may assume this has been proven, but has it? In reality, extinctions are practically impossible to prove.
Sketch by the eyewitness Patty Carson: “Pterodactyl” seen by her and her brother in 1965 in eastern Cuba
Cryptozoology and Science Before dismissing ropen expeditions as unscientific religious exercises, consider this: Until 1938, the fish called Coelacanth was thought to have become extinct 65-million years ago. Does that number sound familiar? After this supposedly ancient fish was discovered alive by a Westerner, the truth came out: Natives had long known about this living fish. If a scientist had been searching for the living Coelacanths before 1938, the first evidence to be found would have been native eyewitness testimony; it would have been cryptozoological.
What is evidence? Human experience is always a part of evidence, whether it is cryptozoological or not.
Evidence Gathering in PNG Consider the following testimonies of one American and three natives of Papua New Guinea, then believe what you will about modern “flying dinosaurs.” But first consider what two skeptics have said. One critic of the ropen cryptozoological investigations has mentioned native superstitions. Another has insinuated that an American eyewitness may have been hallucinating. These criticisms, however, seem to be more speculative than the investigations are. Judge those two criticisms after considering the following details in sighting reports from PNG. For decades, the American World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson (now deceased) maintained that he and his army buddy saw a gigantic “pterodactyl” in 1944, in what was then called New Guinea. He estimated the wingspan for the apparent pterosaur- like flying creature: about that of a Piper Tri-Pacer (which has a wingspan of about 29 feet). In 2004, two American cryptozoologists, Garth Guessman and David Woetzel, interviewed a native on a remote island in Papua New Guinea. The two explorers showed Jonah Jim 34 silhouette sketches of birds, bats, and pterosaurs. He chose the Sordes pilosus (a long-tailed pterosaur) as the nearest to the flying creature that he had seen in the year 2001. By the way, his sighting was sixty- six miles north of the World War II veteran’s 1944 sighting. Jonah Jim estimated the wingspan of the ropen* he observed: six to seven meters, about twenty feet. *(Natives of Umboi Island do not use the term “flying dinosaurs.”) An individual pterosaur would not have a wingspan of twenty-nine feet in 1944 and twenty-one feet in 2001: obviously not the same individual creature. What’s the point? The tail-length/wingspan ratio. Jonah Jim estimated tail length: up to three meters, or about half the wingspan. Duane Hodgkinson, the World War II veteran estimated tail length: “at least ten or fifteen feet.” Both eyewitnesses estimated a tail length equal to about half the wingspan, although these are estimates, not measurements. This could be a coincidence, could it not? But there’s more. Another native of Umboi Island, Jonathan Ragu, lives a few miles or so north of Jonah Jim. He saw the same thirty-four silhouette sketches, for he was interviewed by the same two American explorers in the year 2004. Guess which sketch he chose. What is it about the Sordes pilosus? It gets hairier. Over the years of ropen investigations in this area of Papua New Guinea, some of the natives say that the flying creature is hairy. Well, it just so happens that the “Sordes” in the Latin Sordes pilosus means “hairy.” But there’s more. Another native was interviewed by Guessman and Woetzel in another area of Umboi Island. Although Dickson had no clear view of a ropen, he knew of a tradition about it. When the interviewers asked him about the tail, Dickson told them that it is stiff. He then modified his answer: The tail does not bend except where it connects to the body of the ropen. How does that relate to the idea that pterosaurs, “flying dinosaurs,” are still living? Fossil evidence indicates the tails of Rhamphorhynchoids could not move much except at the base of the tail. Does it seem reasonable that an American soldier would hallucinate a giant Rhamphorhynchoid and natives on an island to the north would have, in some of their legends, ideas that correlate with a giant Rhamphorhynchoid, with various sightings suggesting a tail length equal to about half of the wingspan and all of that only by coincidence? It’s unlikely that everything would be coincidental. The best explanation is this: Some pterosaurs are alive. Are All Pterosaurs Extinct? (No) Flying Dinosaurs
Drawn by the eyewitness U.S. Marine Eskin Kuhn
Another sighting in eastern Cuba, this one in 1971 (image reversed horizontally for artistic purpose)
Shape of the Sordes pilosus (Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur), top, compared with a sketch approved by the eyewitness Jonah Jim, of Umboi Island— the bottom sketch shows the shape of the ropen. The eyewitness could have been impressed by the similarity of wing shape in the Sordes pilosus.
David Woetzel (left) and Garth Guessman (bottom) on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, during their expedition in 2004
“Flying Dinosaurs” not Limited to Long Tails What some Westerners call “pterodactyls” or “flying dinosaurs” are not limited to Rhamphorhynchoids, in Papua New Guinea. One news release explains how three Americans reported strange flying creatures deep in the interior of New Britain Island. These apparent pterosaurs, however, have not tails and fly in daylight, unlike the nocturnal ropen of nearby Umboi Island. (Natives of PNG use the word “Siasi” for the island that Westerners call Umboi.) Living Pterodactyloid on New Britain Island Philosophies regarding a live pterosaur Credibility of Umboi Island eyewitnesses of a pterosaur  Exciting New Subject for LDS Readers
Flying Dinosaurs in Papua New Guinea
An Umboi native describes a ropen’s flight path
Composite sketches from two sightings
Could living pterosaurs still fly through the skies? This is an investigation in the realm of cryptozoology.
Introduction by Jonathan Whitcomb From 1994 through 2009, about nine Americans have intermittently (and usually two or three at a time) visited remote islands of Papua New Guinea, searching for flying creatures: living pterosaurs. On Umboi Island, it’s called ropen, but it’s known as duwas and seklo-bali in other local languages in other areas of PNG. Most of the evidence the American explorers have found is native eyewitness testimony. Why have they gone on such a strange search, a quest for discovering a modern pterosaur? About of the explorers have spent personal funds to explore in Papua New Guinea and with some kind of religious purpose. These men have no confidence in Darwin’s General theory of evolution. In fact, the first scientific paper written by Jonathan Whitcomb (one of the American explorers) ends with the conclusion that Darwin’s concept of natural selection actually prevents any long-term ascending evolution from happening. Many textbooks declare that dinosaurs and pterosaurs died out long ago, the last ones becoming extinct by about 65-million years ago. Many persons may assume this has been proven, but has it? In reality, extinctions are practically impossible to prove.
Sketch by the eyewitness Patty Carson: “Pterodactyl” seen by her and her brother in 1965 in eastern Cuba
What is evidence? Human experience is always a part of evidence, whether it is cryptozoological or not.
Another sighting in eastern Cuba, this one in 1971 (image reversed horizontally for artistic purpose)
Cryptozoology and Science Before dismissing ropen expeditions as unscientific religious exercises, consider this: Until 1938, the fish called Coelacanth was thought to have become extinct 65-million years ago. Does that number sound familiar? After this supposedly ancient fish was discovered alive by a Westerner, the truth came out: Natives had long known about this living fish. If a scientist had been searching for the living Coelacanths before 1938, the first evidence to be found would have been native eyewitness testimony; it would have been cryptozoological.
Shape of the Sordes pilosus (Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur), top, compared with a sketch approved by the eyewitness Jonah Jim, of Umboi Island— the bottom sketch shows the shape of the ropen. The eyewitness could have been impressed by the similarity of wing shape in the Sordes pilosus.
Evidence Gathering in PNG Consider the following testimonies of one American and three natives of Papua New Guinea, then believe what you will about modern “flying dinosaurs.” But first consider what two skeptics have said. One critic of the ropen cryptozoological investigations has mentioned native superstitions. Another has insinuated that an American eyewitness may have been hallucinating. These criticisms, however, seem to be more speculative than the investigations are. Judge those two criticisms after considering the following details in sighting reports from PNG. For decades, the American World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson (now deceased) maintained that he and his army buddy saw a gigantic “pterodactyl” in 1944, in what was then called New Guinea. He estimated the wingspan for the apparent pterosaur- like flying creature: about that of a Piper Tri-Pacer (which has a wingspan of about 29 feet). In 2004, two American cryptozoologists, Garth Guessman and David Woetzel, interviewed a native on a remote island in Papua New Guinea. The two explorers showed Jonah Jim 34 silhouette sketches of birds, bats, and pterosaurs. He chose the Sordes pilosus (a long-tailed pterosaur) as the nearest to the flying creature that he had seen in the year 2001. By the way, his sighting was sixty- six miles north of the World War II veteran’s 1944 sighting. Jonah Jim estimated the wingspan of the ropen* he observed: six to seven meters, about twenty feet. *(Natives of Umboi Island do not use the term “flying dinosaurs.”) An individual pterosaur would not have a wingspan of twenty-nine feet in 1944 and twenty-one feet in 2001: obviously not the same individual creature. What’s the point? The tail-length/wingspan ratio. Jonah Jim estimated tail length: up to three meters, or about half the wingspan. Duane Hodgkinson, the World War II veteran estimated tail length: “at least ten or fifteen feet.” Both eyewitnesses estimated a tail length equal to about half the wingspan, although these are estimates, not measurements. This could be a coincidence, could it not? But there’s more. Another native of Umboi Island, Jonathan Ragu, lives a few miles or so north of Jonah Jim. He saw the same thirty-four silhouette sketches, for he was interviewed by the same two American explorers in the year 2004. Guess which sketch he chose. What is it about the Sordes pilosus? It gets hairier. Over the years of ropen investigations in this area of Papua New Guinea, some of the natives say that the flying creature is hairy. Well, it just so happens that the “Sordes” in the Latin Sordes pilosus means “hairy.” But there’s more. Another native was interviewed by Guessman and Woetzel in another area of Umboi Island. Although Dickson had no clear view of a ropen, he knew of a tradition about it. When the interviewers asked him about the tail, Dickson told them that it is stiff. He then modified his answer: The tail does not bend except where it connects to the body of the ropen. How does that relate to the idea that pterosaurs, “flying dinosaurs,” are still living? Fossil evidence indicates the tails of Rhamphorhynchoids could not move much except at the base of the tail. Does it seem reasonable that an American soldier would hallucinate a giant Rhamphorhynchoid and natives on an island to the north would have, in some of their legends, ideas that correlate with a giant Rhamphorhynchoid, with various sightings suggesting a tail length equal to about half of the wingspan and all of that only by coincidence? It’s unlikely that everything would be coincidental. The best explanation is this: Some pterosaurs are alive. Are All Pterosaurs Extinct? (No) Flying Dinosaurs
copyright 2007-2017 Jonathan David Whitcomb
David Woetzel (left) and Garth Guessman (bottom) on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea, during their expedition in 2004
“Flying Dinosaurs” not Limited to Long Tails What some Westerners call “pterodactyls” or “flying dinosaurs” are not limited to Rhamphorhynchoids, in Papua New Guinea. One news release explains how three Americans reported strange flying creatures deep in the interior of New Britain Island. These apparent pterosaurs, however, have not tails and fly in daylight, unlike the nocturnal ropen of nearby Umboi Island. (Natives of PNG use the word “Siasi” for the island that Westerners call Umboi.) Living Pterodactyloid on New Britain Island Philosophies regarding a live pterosaur Credibility of Umboi Island eyewitnesses of a pterosaur  Exciting New Subject for LDS Readers
Small island south of Umboi Island in Papua New Guinea