A common explanation for reports of giant living pterosaurs in the Southwest Pacific–that is the fruit bat called “Flying Fox.” But many problems plague that explanation. Descriptions include a very long tail, brilliant bioluminescence, fish-catching habits, and a truly giant size (sometimes over twenty feet in wingspan). The fruit bat hypothesis falls on its face.
But another problem with the fruit bat explanation stares us in the face. Two similar descriptions are found in many eyewitness accounts of “pterodactyls” in the United States: a very long tail and a truly giant size. Many accounts include a wingspan estimate of over seven feet, which is too big to be a Flying Fox that escaped from a zoo.
Revolutionary as it may at first appear, why not consider the obvious? Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaurs still live.