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Live Pterosaurs in Texas

In the new nonfiction book Searching for Ropens and Finding God, several sighting reports from Texas are included, encounters with very strange flying creatures.

From page 217

I got an email, in August of 2010, from a lady who had seen an “extremely large bird” that looked like a “pterodactyl.” The eyewitness was only a child in 1988 or 1989, when the creature flew over the playground of a school in the Houston area. Apparently she knew nothing, at the time, about other sightings in that area, strange flying creatures seen in southeast Texas in the 1980’s. Only when she was older did she look for reports of other sightings like hers.

From page 219

Getting back to the lady’s encounter northwest of Austin, she told her husband, “It looked like a pterodactyl.” Note that she first was thinking or hoping for a commonplace explanation: a big turkey vulture, only this thing had a long neck and a pointed beak and head. The wingspan was the length of the water trough, six feet, and it was “at least four foot tall.”

From page 221

Consider more of what he told me. It was the loud screeching that caused him to look up. He saw nothing strange at first, just something circling high up in the sky, like a hawk or buzzard. The screeching continued as the boy ran to the house to get binoculars, for the sound was strange and he was unsure if it was coming from the dark-colored thing that was gliding fast, unlike a bird.

Why so few Newspaper Headlines?

Here’s a small part of the answer, from page 300 of the book:

For the past century and a half, few newspapers have ever put a live-pterodactyl story on the front page. Why? Hardly any biologist would admit that kind of creature could still exist. Yet what could grab the attention of a biologist other than a front-page newspaper headline? It was almost impossible for any biologist to see the big picture in pterosaur sightings until the past few years, when many people, from around the world, have become connected by the internet. But even if a professor sees a report about a sighting, that’s just one report.

In other words, very few biology professors have anything remotely like a broad perspective on eyewitness reports of flying creatures that resemble pterosaurs. Without that support from those kind of professors, few newspapers publish articles on such reports. But that is part of what is needed to attract the attention of biology professors: media reports of apparent living pterosaurs.

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Flying Creature in Los Angeles

On a pleasant day in June of 2012, I walked into the Sheriff station in Lakewood, California, two miles northeast of my home in Long Beach. I knew better than to tell a police officer of my concerns about the safety of family pets now that pterodactyls had invaded the community. . . .

Religion and Science in the new Ropen Book

How much religion and science are found in the nonfiction Searching for Ropens and Finding God? It depends on what you’re looking for.

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Marfa Lights and Bioluminescence

I recommend the nonfiction book Hunting Marfa Lights, by James Bunnell. It is the best resource I know of for data on the more mysterious of the lights. This book should be a major reference for any researcher of this phenomenon, at least until we have a major breakthrough in discovering the nature of the CE-II and CE-III mystery lights (ML) of Marfa, Texas.

Photo by imelda of a photograph of a CE-III flying Marfa Light

The above is a photograph of a CE-III Marfa Light, flying horizontally

What do I mean by “major breakthrough?” I believe that a future discovery involving Marfa Lights may involve capturing an animal, but that requires an explanation. Let’s begin with strange lights outside of Texas.

Ropen Lights of Papua New Guinea

I led the first of the two ropen expeditions of 2004 on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea. After interviewing three important eyewitnesses just south of Lake Pung, I began to return to Gomlongon with my natives guides and my interpreter. We met a man, Jonah Jim, who also had seen the huge flying creature. Of course with his limited English, he did not know the word “bioluminescence,” although he surely knew of glowing things in the sea.

I was tired and anxious to get back to Gomlongon and prepare to leave the island, for my funds were running low; I took no notes of my brief communication with Jonah Jim. Fortunately, a few weeks later, Garth Guessman and David Woetzel, on the second ropen expedition of that year, found this eyewitness and interviewed him with a detailed questionnaire. After my associates returned to the USA, I was thrilled at what they had learned from Jonah Jim.

By the way, I had little or no knowledge of Marfa Lights in 2004.

Here is part of what Jonah Jim revealed to us, quoting from the second edition of my cryptozoology book Searching for Ropens:

Page 95:

. . . this young man saw the ropen not as a vague, distant light but as a creature—close. In addition to the glow, he saw the long tail.

Page 113:

All six members of his family were together when the ropen, without wing flapping, flew “directly overhead.” . . . Only the tail was glowing and it was blue, “a shade darker than sky blue.” The “wingspan” [he estimated to be] six to seven meters; tail length, two-and-a-half to three meters . . .

Jonah Jim is hardly visible high up in this coconut tree, south of Lake Pung, on Umboi Island in Papua New Guinea

Can you see Jonah Jim in the coconut tree? (Photo by Whitcomb)

In other words, we have no need to rely on native traditions to tie together the flying lights to the giant flying creatures. And Jonah Jim was not alone. Guessman and Woetzel also interviewed Jonathan Ragu, who also saw a ropen at night: the general form, the shape of the wings, and the glow emanating from the flying creature.

So for Americans who have heard about the strangest kinds of Marfa Lights in Texas, it’s not so strange to consider bioluminescent flying creatures in Texas; we have the glowing ropen that may be related.

Why Should CE-II and CE-III be Bioluminescent Creatures?

Take the CE-III’s first. They sometimes fly long distances well above the desert vegetation, though not as high as airplanes normally fly at night: Sometimes the CE-III’s fly just a few feet off the ground. Those uncommon glowing balls commonly turn off and on. Ropen lights also have a limit to how long they can stay on; they have a shorter duration than Marfa Lights of CE-II and CE-III types.

Bunnell calls the truly unexplained glowing objects around Marfa “mystery lights” or ML. CE-III mystery lights are absent from the Marfa area for weeks at a time. They may be seen in the same area two nights in a row (in warmer weather), but they then commonly disappear for weeks. As far as I can tell from analyzing Bunnell’s data, this CE-III type of light never returns to this area of Texas after 4-10 days or so. When these lights leave, they are gone for weeks. The explanation is simple.

Unless the hunting is especially successful, the bioluminescent flying predators (BFP) will move on to another area of Texas or Mexico, on a night following an appearance near Marfa. And when would hunting be most likely to be especially successful? In warmer weather, when prey is more active and easier to find. Can you guess what Bunnell’s data shows for weather when the CE-III’s are seen two nights in a row? It’s on warmer nights.

What about CE-II mystery lights? They are similar to CE-III’s except that they do not fly; they are stationary. How does that relate to my theory? Flying creatures do not always fly.

Many other details in Bunnell’s data fit perfectly well with the Bioluminescent Flying Predator theory, notwithstanding his reluctance to consider such an unorthodox interpretation. I don’t blame him. After all, the glowing ropen of Papua New Guinea is considered by those who search for it to be a modern living pterosaur, and “not everybody embraces a live pterodactyl.”

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Explanation for Marfa Lights

The author of Hunting Marfa Lights, James Bunnell, said nothing about the following theory in his book. I informed him of part of my theory early in 2010, after the publication of his [book].

Marfa Lights in Texas

. . . a press release about Marfa Lights, suggesting they might be related to  the ropen lights of Papua New Guinea . . .

Marfa Lights – Flying Predators?

James Bunnell has observed and videotaped those strange flying lights that appear near Marfa only a few times each year . . .

Marfa Lights on Consecutive Nights

In the book Hunting Marfa Lights, James Bunnell reveals, “On rare occasions I have observed MLs [mystery lights in the Marfa area of Texas] repeat their location but only on consecutive nights.”

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“Pterodactyl” in Southern States

No sightings were reported in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, in the third edition of Live Pterosaurs in America. But “pterodactyls” have been reported in other southern states: New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, and Florida.

From LPA-3: Winder, Georgia, Sightings

Late in the summer of 2008, I received an email from a lady who lives in Winder, Georgia. . . . Her first sighting was at 7 a.m., the second, 9 a.m., with both mornings overcast . . . Both times she phoned a friend to tell him of her extraordinary experience.

. . . She had driven less than ten miles, just leaving an area of pasture, entering an area of thick woods, around a mild downhill curve, with high banks and brush on each side of the road, when an animal suddenly flew from the right, just over the front of her car. Although alone, she yelled, “What the — what — what is that?” She was stunned.

She told me what made her yell out loud: It was the tail; she looked up at a “very long” tail that had a strange shape at the end. She later sent me some sketches (she is a professional artist but has not given me permission to publish the sketches), one of them showing a thick almost-heart-shape at the end of the tail; it differs from the usual “diamond” shape suggested by some eyewitnesses, but I believe this creature is related to the others.

Large Flying Creature in New Mexico

“I live in central N.M.. Fourteen years ago, in [Socorro], N.M., me and a close friend, who now has a masters in biology, were hiking during the midday sun at [a] box canyon and something blocked the sun for a moment. We both looked up to see what did that and saw a large flying animal.”

Arkansas Pterosaurs

“My father and I saw a huge, featherless bird in Arkansas . . .  We were sitting on big rocks at a cliff about 300 foot above the river when it flew out just under us and we watched it all the way down toward the river till it passed the tree lines. It was an awesome experience, indeed. It was however smaller, and wing span of maybe eight feet . . .”

 

Live Pterosaurs in America -third edition of the nonfiction book - covers An Amazon review of the third edition of Live Pterosaurs in America:

Mr. Whitcomb does a thorough job questioning indoctrination and the close-mindedness of the Western world. Reading so many eye-witness reports of people who have seen living pterosaurs in America was mind-opening, to say the least. Speculation is not an easy thing to address, but Whitcomb does a noteworthy job stringing together testimony and speculation in a scientific, yet personal way. The passion that Whitcomb and the pterosaur witnesses feel about these investigations make this book a great read and keep the pages turning. If you are prepared to question the indoctrination society has imposed on you since childhood, you are ready for Live Pterosaurs in America.

News: Pterosaurs Seen in the United States

Reports of modern living pterosaurs keep coming in, and most of them appear to be unrelated to any hoax or misidentification.

A Real Pterosaur in Pennsylvania

I noticed a large black bird in the sky . . . I called my students attention to it and they were both instantly mesmerized. The wingspan appeared to be at least six feet . . . you could clearly make out a long “horn” or “cone” type protrusion coming out of the back of its skull . . . It flew over top us and landed in the water . . . Carrie ran around the building . . . There are always ducks in that water as well as rats and other things. [She returned] . . . she said it had taken off, Carrie said it was in the water splashing and eating or grabbing something in its mouth.

 All About Marfa Lights and Pterosaurs

This has recent news about ideas on the Marfa Lights, how they resemble other lights that have been connected with sightings of living pterosaurs. (Texas)

What an extraordinary idea! Marfa Lights come from glowing pterodactyls? How could such a wild idea have any merit? Consider what critics have written about that idea; you may be surprised. When the sarcasm is brushed aside, as we eventually must do to all sarcasm, the arguments against the bioluminescent-pterosaur idea appear weak.

Another Pterodactyl in California

It’s not new news, coming from a 2007 article in The Signal of the Santa Clarita Valley; but the original report is much older, a Los Angeles Times article about sightings in the 1880′s.

The creature . . . was “as big as a horse, had wings like an oversize bat, big bulgy eyes the size of mushmelons . . . and a long, woolly tail.”

Houston, Texas, Sighting

I recently received a sighting report from a lady who was a child in the late 1980’s, in the Houston area.

. . . it was during school and we were outside for either recess or gym. My friend and I both seen the extremely large bird flying in the sky above our school. It seemed to be like that of a pterodactyl.

She told me more, but not much more, in her intial report, but it’s in the consistant accumulation of sighting accounts that evidential value accumulates. Most reports of living pterosaurs (or “pterodactyls” or “flying dinosaurs” or “prehistoric birds”) are somewhat similar to this Houston sighting: The flying creature is close enough for an eyewitness or eyewitnesses to notice details that are both un-bird-like and un-bat-like, but distant enough that skeptics may seem to have the upper hand in proclaiming all such sightings are misidentifications. One problem in the reasoning of such skeptics is that not all sightings are at a distance. A few are quite close, as would be expected of actual encounters. Those close sightings make it obvious that large flying creatures in North America and in other parts of the world are not all birds or bats.

Note that sightings in North America resemble those in Papua New Guinea, in many instances. Most daylight sightings involve a long tail and many of those sighting reports include some structure at the end of the tail, suggesting a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur tail.

Second Edition of “Live Pterosaurs in America” (Author: Whitcomb) Coming Soon

Within the next few weeks, the second edition of the nonfiction cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America will be published. This expanded edition will include new reports of sightings, thrilling eyewitness accounts of encounters with living pterosaurs in the United States. Consider excerpts from some of the sightings.

San Fernando Valley, California Pterosaur Sighting

I received an email, in September of 2009, from a man who lives in the San Fernando Valley (northern Los Angeles County). . . . my girlfriend and I saw a creature last night (9/21/2009) that baffled us. It was a very large, winged creature that was gliding maybe 100 yards above us. We stared at the creature in disbelief because it was so strange . . . the wings had a glow or reflection.

Black and Orange Pterosaur in Texas

Aaron Tullock was eight years old (about 1995) when he saw a hovering flying creature . . . Late in a sunny afternoon in Marion County, Texas, he was alone in the yard of his grandparent’s house. “I saw a featherless flying animal with a wingspan of about 4 1/2 to 5 feet and a long tail with a diamond type shape at the tip of it. No hair or feathers anywhere, just leathery reptile type skin. . . . mouth/beak full of long sharp teeth . . . Its color was bright orange with black ‘tiger stripes.’ . . . although the animal was brightly colored, the underside was not brightly colored . . .”

“Pterodactyl” Flies At Night in Ohio

“. . . On June 26, 2010, at 11:15 pm, I was driving on Rt 309 just outside of Kenton, Ohio, perfectly clear night . . . and I had a creature swoop down and glide over my hood of my car. It glided smoothly and looked like a Pterodactyl . . . Because of the full moon of that eve I could see it remarkably clear and it was very close to my car. . . . I just can’t get this out of my mind. I did not know who to contact . . . thank you for your quick response.”

In addition, there is a new chapter about the Marfa Lights of Texas.

The appendix of the book will have several pages on the 1971 pterosaur sighting in Cuba, by Eskin Kuhn (actually he saw two pterosaurs). The proximity to the United States and the similarities with pterosaurs seen in the U.S. made it appropriate to include that sighting in the book.

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British Biologist Observes Strange Lights

How are a British insect expert and strange flying lights in New Guinea related to reports of modern living pterosaurs in the United States? That requires a detailed explanation, but they do relate.

Bioluminescence is light produced by living organisms such as fireflies, some fungi, and some oceanic life (especially marine life deep in the oceans). According to many natives in Papua New Guinea, some flying creatures glow as they fly at night. Daylight descriptions strongly suggest modern pterosaurs live in Papua New Guinea, and some native eyewitnesses have observed the glowing flying creatures close enough to see the form (Jonah Jim and Jonathan Ragu of Umboi Island), comparing it to a silhouette sketch of a Sordes Pilosus (Rhamphornynchoid pterosaur).

The point? Evelyn Cheesman, a British entomologist, long ago observed strange flying lights deep in the mainland of what is now the nation of Papua New Guinea; just south of that location, in 2006, Paul Nation, of Texas, observed similar lights (called by the local natives “indava”). When native eyewitnesses observe the indavas in daylight, they see large winged-creatures; one native described the size in terms of an airplane (near Tawa Village is an airstrip for small planes). But strange flying lights are hardly confined to Papua New Guinea. Stories of American ghost lights abound in many areas, and in Marfa, Texas, the behavior of strange lights suggests nocturnal flying predators are hunting bats. In the United States, sightings of strange flying lights and rare daylight sightings of obvious pterosaurs are in the same general areas. As rare and strange as they may be, it seems that nocturnal pterosaurs hunt bats at night, even in the United States of America.

Saving an endangered salamander in Mexico

Northeast Texas Pterosaur

Northeast Texas pterosaur seen by TullockAaron Tullock would sometimes play in the woods and swamp near his grandparents’ house; he and his friends would often look for animals there. But this day was different, for Aaron was alone, and the animal he encountered on that late afternoon in 1995 was different.

Fortunately the eight-year-old was not in the swamp but in the yard, waiting for his mother to come out. Something strange flew out of the swamp while Aaron’s back was turned. It flew just over his head, stopping in mid-air to hover for awhile. The boy knew it was not a bird or bat that he was staring at. There were not feathers, so it was no bird; it had a long tail, so it was no bat. He knew what it was but was shocked: a pterosaur!

I interviewed Aaron (now a young man) earlier this year, by emails. I have been impressed by his credibility; he seems to be telling the truth, notwithstanding the strange coloration of the creature: bright orange mixed with black. The long tail had a flange at the end. The head had no crest, at least not like other creatures seen by other eyewitnesses in the United States; it did have a “kind of a longish bump on the back of the head.”

Aaron sent me a copy of the report that he had previously sent to another cryptozoologist, including, “it turned back west and started flying, it first went up about fifty feet and then forward towards the sunset. Then I just stood there because I knew what I had just seen. My favorite thing as a child was dinosaurs and I watched specials on them virtually every day . . .”

More about the Texas Pterosaur

Do not confuse this sighting with the one by another child (a girl) in Texas in 1995