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Some of those who have searched for the long-tailed nocturnal ropen

Three American explorers in Papua New Guinea

By the investigative journalist Jonathan Whitcomb

Early expeditions, searching for ropens

Let’s begin with two expeditions in the 1990’s. These were mostly on Umboi Island, which is in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea, and just west of New Britain Island. Explorers were looking for what appeared to be a nocturnal bioluminescent pterosaur, and they interviewed eyewitnesses.

The following is a partial list of explorers who went on those two expeditions:

  • Carl Baugh (from Texas)
  • Paul Nation (from the same area of Texas)
  • Jim Blume (missionary in Papua New Guinea)
  • Jacob Kepas (native Baptist minister in PNG)

It seems that Baugh has not gone on any more expeditions since the 1990’s so let’s look at the other explorers.

Paul Nation accompanied Baugh in one of the expeditions on Umboi Island in the 1990’s, as some of the explorers in their group questioned natives about the nocturnal ropen. Paul returned to Umboi with his son, Nathanael, in 2002, but they were unable to get a sighting of a ropen.

Paul Nation, cryptozoologist from Texas

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Two ropen expeditions in 2004

After receiving detailed instructions from Paul Nation, three other American cryptozoologists went on their own expeditions on Umboi Island, late in 2004: Jonathan Whitcomb (first expedition), David Woetzel (second exp.), and Garth Guessman (second exp.).

Three American explorers in Papua New Guinea

Whitcomb, Guessman, and Woetzel, in two separate expeditions

Those two ropen expeditions resulted in two scientific papers being published in a peer-reviewed journal of science:

  • “The Fiery Flying Serpent” (Woetzel)
  • “Reports of Living Pterosaurs in the Southwest Pacific” (Whitcomb)

Both expeditions resulted in a sighting of the flying light, but much of what was learned about the ropen came from interviews with native eyewitnesses.

Conclusion

The ropen of Umboi Island is most likely a large long-tailed descendant of a Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur and it seems to have intrinsic bioluminescence.

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About those who search for living pterosaurs

Here’s a partial list of those who have looked for non-extinct “pterodactyls”

  • Paul Nation
  • Garth Guessman
  • Jonathan Whitcomb
  • David Woetzel
  • Rex Yapi Epa
  • Greg Hedger
  • Scott Norman
  • Milt Marcy
  • Peter Beach
  • Jacob Kepas
  • James Blume

We also need to thank Clifford Paiva, a physicist in California, for much important work that he has done over the years, in living pterosaur investigations. His scientific work has been extremely helpful.

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Modern pterosaur

How could it be? Extraordinary but true, huge flying creatures, with no feathers yet unlike any bat, live among us, although they mostly fly at night.

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One LDS Perspective on Evolution

A blog in support of a nonfiction book that should be published early in 2019

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Bioluminescent Pterosaurs

Late in 2006, deep in the interior of the main-land of Papua New Guinea, Paul Nation, of Texas, was finally able to videotape two indava lights, as they were near the top of a ridge.

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The ropen of Umboi Island

For years, villagers of Umboi Island have seen the ropen light flying to or from the larger mountains, in particular Mount Bel. Some describe the light as lasting only about five seconds. They say that only one light is seen at a time, and not only natives see it: Westerners have seen the ropen light.

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A scientific paper on living pterosaurs

The Abstract refers to standard models of evolution regarding asserted extinctions of all species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs.

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A potential example of an evolutionary boundary

long-tailed pterosaur seen by Patty Carson

By Jonathan Whitcomb

I use the word “potential” because the case for a particular cryptid does not depend on every single report of this animal. The nocturnal animal here examined is known mostly from eyewitness reports and an individual account can have very limited scientific value in itself.

Introduction to the ropen

This is written early in 2019, with the ropen still confined within the realms of cryptozoology rather than in standard Western biology. This featherless creature could be thought of as flying over the Bigfoot of North American or over the creature in Loch Ness, at least with people who follow investigations in cryptozoology.

living pterosaurs drawn by eyewitness Eskin Kuhn

Sketch by the eyewitness Eskin Kuhn

As best as my associates and I can determine, the ropen is a modern living Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur. Strange as it may sound to most Westerners who have not previously heard about this flying creature, the long-tailed ropen is far more common in the eyewitness reports, from around the world, than those apparent extant pterosaurs that are described more like the short-tailed Pterodactyloids.

For those who have assumed standard models of evolution are sacrosanct, this can be shocking. Why? The apparent modern pterosaurs that are most commonly reported resemble the kinds that were supposed to have mostly become extinct millions of years earlier than the pterosaurs that appear to be less common, yet also alive, today.

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“Living fossils” and “molecules-to-man” evolution

An objective look at Darwinian evolution, and his basic thinking about consequences of natural selection, should take into account those modern living species that had once been assumed to have gone extinct many millions of years ago. Every time such a new modern species is discovered, it should cause people to take a fresh approach to axioms about major evolutionary changes, the kinds of changes that Darwin and his followers assumed must have taken place in the distant past.

When the ropen is officially discovered by the Western world, and this will take place, basic assumptions of evolution should be reevaluated. It’s long overdue, in light of the many previous discoveries of “living fossils.”

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Is the ropen a pterosaur?

What about the tail? When asked about its movement, villagers [on Umboi Island, Papua New Guinea] said that it never bends; Dickson, however, added a critical detail: The tail is stiff except where it connects to the body. Knowing Rhamphorhynchoid anatomy, Guessman was thrilled, for pterosaur fossils indicate that the tail could not bend much except . . . near where it connected to the body.

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Evolutionary Boundary

. . . Darwin’s Natural Selection actually PREVENTS ANY major biological-development change in ANY organism.

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Ropen of Papua New Guinea

Many natives living on the tropical island of Umboi (Siasi), Papua New Guinea, have seen the flying light, the bioluminescent glow of the ropen. Compare their experiences with others in PNG.

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Evolution and modern pterosaurs

Believe what you will about Darwin’s contributions to science, but most of my associates and I have rejected the unlimited-common-ancestry philosophy of Darwin, making it clear that we differentiate between observed biological changes and the “molecules-to-man” assumptions commonly portrayed in much of American media as if “fact.”

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Scientific paper on living pterosaurs

The ten-year anniversary is approaching for the publication of my scientific paper “Reports of Living Pterosaurs in the Southwest Pacific,” so here is an introduction to that peer-reviewed article, with links to images of some of the pages. It was published in Volume 45 of the Creation Research Society Quarterly (issue: Winter of 2009), beginning on page 200 of that issue.

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The head of the ropen shown at the top of this post was sketched by Patty Carson, who saw this flying creature at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 1965. This is where the U.S. Marine Eskin Kuhn saw two “pterodactyls” in 1971.

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A new paperback nonfiction book on modern pterosaurs

non-fiction cryptozoology book on living pterosaurs

The Girl who saw a Flying Dinosaur (a short book for young readers)

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