Flying Creature Like dinosaurs but flying---those be pterosaurs Creature of the Night by Jonathan David Whitcomb Alive! You have seen a flying creature unlike any bird or bat. It's more like a pterosaur but alive, a "flying dinosaur." What do you do? If you live in the United States, you have the same problem as countless other eyewitnesses of living pterosaurs. Do you call the police? The newspaper? Animal control? A nearby university? A brief reflection makes it obvious: None of those will do. Other American eyewitnesses have been called "crazy" for reporting what they have seen. It’s a cultural problem, a weakness in perspective. The problem is not in the eyewitnesses but in the indoctrination, over generations, that all species of dinosaurs and pterosaurs must have become extinct millions of years ago. That’s the problem. So who do you call? I hope you'll contact me, Jonathan Whitcomb. As far as I know, I am the only person on earth who has devoted anything like a full-time effort, over years, to interview eyewitnesses of apparent living pterosaurs and promote the concept that these flying creatures are not extinct but very much alive. As of late-2012, I have written three nonfiction books and one scientific paper (in a peer-reviewed journal) on modern living pterosaurs. I try to be objective with each of the eyewitnesses I interview, with neither a crude skepticism nor an over-zealous acceptance of every- thing that seems to support my previous conclusions. I listen and record what eyewitnesses tell me and always keep their identities a secret until they fully agree to come out of anonymity and have their names made public, always. Creature That Flies in the Night Most of these flying creatures fly at night, although some sightings are in the daylight. Please be aware that a sighting in the day does not mean that what was observed must be a creature normally out in daylight. It may have been frightened out of sleep during the day. It may be a nocturnal creature that was out on that one day. Owl, Bat, or Pterosaur?  In my cryptozoology book Live Pterosaurs in America, I explain concepts related to the glowing creatures of the night, not fireflies but flying creatures much larger: Apparent bioluminescent owls and pterosaurs. Intrinsic bioluminescence in such creatures is controversial, and some biologists would be surprised to learn that some investigators support and write about such things, but the evidence, in eyewitness testimonies, support us. "Giant bat" is not a reasonable explanation, contrary to the vague suggestions of some critics. In Papua New Guinea, the Flying Fox fruit bat is large, to be sure; but that bat is huge only in comparison with some bats. The ropen is much larger, with some of the reports suggesting a wingspan greater than twenty- five feet. No fruit bat has a wingspan much greater than six feet at the very most. And the ropen is said to eat fish on reefs at night. It uses its bioluminescence to attract the fish. Also telling is the tail of the nocturnal ropen. According to the World War II veteran Duane Hodgkinson, the creature he saw had a tail "at least 10-15 feet" long. But the tail movement of the ropen of Umboi Island, Papua New Guiea, has amazed those cryptozoologists who have investigated these flying creatures: It is stiff except at the base, and the tails of Rhamphorhynchoid pterosaur fossils show us those creatures had the same tail movement. Nocturnal Flying Creature Giant Bat or Pterosaur? Cryptozoology Book Glowing Creature Living Pterosaurs Copyright 2010, 2011, 2012  Jonathan David Whitcomb “Gitmo Pterosaur” of Cuba, sketched by eyewitness Patty Carson “Pterodactyl” of Cuba, sketched by eyewitness Eskin Kuhn