Comments on: Don’t Get Strung Along by the “Ropen” Myth

By: Dr. Phosferrous

Dr. Phosferrous — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 23:58:21 +0000

I call them quackbats here in the inland Northwest. Similar in size and flight to a heron, dark colored, but the one I saw had a huge sectional eye and whiskers or hair on the neck and face. It had a long tail with something on the end of it that flicked around like a mousetail when it flew. It flew low and quiet, and made a horrible noise like a dog vomiting into a coffee can.

By: Chad

Chad — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:21:51 +0000

I agree with you Jonathan. No proof is proof that they no longer exist? Recently humans have found fish that we believed to have been extinct. They just recently found the rainbow frog that has been “extinct” Also, the size of the Ropen, whether its large or small (Most stories I have heard or read talk about them being large). You can use evolution to explain how a Ropen not only changed from such a large size into a small sized bird, grew feathers, and features all over it changed. But there is no way the Ropen could have just became smaller in size to adapt just like certain other reptiles have done according to evolution? Just because you have never seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You have to come up with better proof then one nut job who claims his daytime photos of a night time creature is proof. It is not a fact that Ropen’s are alive today because we have no proof other then eye witnesses that may or may not be ‘lying’. Likewise, it is not a fact that they are not alive today because you have no proof as well.

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:53:38 +0000

Beware of circular reasoning. Mr. Switek stated, “Then there is the problem of Aym’s sources. Both Blume and Woetzel are creationist explorers who have tried to promote the existence of living pterosaurs and dinosaurs.” Is not the possibility of living pterosaurs the point? Dismissing the ideas of Jim Blume and David Woetzel, because of their zealous promotion of the idea of living pterosaurs—that is not a logical way to dismiss the idea of living pterosaurs. That is circular reasoning. And regarding religious beliefs, who disputes the validity of Calculus because Newton zealously believed in the Bible?

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 13:37:20 +0000

Where did Mr. Switek get the idea that “Blume, Woetzel and others describe living pterosaurs as relatively small animals with long tails?” I am one of those “others,” having received emails, over the past eight years, from five continents, reports of eyewitness sightings of flying creatures whose descriptions suggest living pterosaurs more than anything else. Many reports (including those given to Jim Blume, David Woetzel, Garth Guessman) are of large creatures, not small.

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:49:22 +0000

I notice several questionable statements in the Salem-News article including, “Both men [Guessman & Woetzel] have personally witnessed the soaring creatures—and Woetzel even shot some video footage of one.” But during their 2004 Umboi Island expedition (a few weeks after my expedition there), neither Woetzel nor Guessman saw any clear form or features of anything like a pterosaur. Neither of them videotaped, during that expedition, anything like a pterosaur. Mr. Aym may have been confused with later expeditions, in particular the late 2006 expedition of Paul Nation.

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:27:18 +0000

Two of the above comments have included labels like “liars” and “lies.” I now appeal to those who can recognize bulverism and who can think clearly. Guessman, Nation, Woezel, and I have explored remote tropical areas of Papua New Guinea, at great personal expense. We have tried to reveal our beliefs that some pterosaurs are still living, at the expense of receiving ridicule for years. But we returned home to the U.S. admitting that we never saw anything like the form or features of any pterosaur in Papua New Guinea. Are we liars? Think about it; we had countless opportunities to fabricate sightings of pterosaurs in those remote areas. Obviously, we are not liars.

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 02:09:51 +0000

I reply to “Darren Naish has debunked many of the famous ones.” The problem with Naish’s lengthy blog posting is simple: Not one of the relevant evidences is even mentioned. My associates and I, for many years, have accumulated reports of many eyewitness accounts. Naish mentions not one of those. Nothing is said about the reported sightings by Duane Hodgkinson, Brian Hennessy, Jacob Kepas, Susan Wooten, Eskin Kuhn, Gideon Koro, Wesley Koro, and many others. Brian Switek seems to make the same mistake, leaving out any mention of even one of those eyewitnesses. Living-pterosaur investigators, like me and Guessman and Woetzel, and Paul Nation—we have continued to search, research, and tell people about these sightings; we do this because of those eyewitnesses and others. Why emphasize the Frigate-bird mistakes of those who have not investigated this subject deeply, namely Terrence Aim? That is his mistake.

By: Jonathan David Whitcomb

Jonathan David Whitcomb — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 01:06:26 +0000

I have published an email newsletter, with the July 30, 2007, issue stating:

“I could become fatigued should more well-meaning individuals send me references to home videos of Frigate birds. I realize that some believers in ropens know little or nothing about Frigate birds. . . .”

The name of my newsletter is “Living Pterosaur.” For years, I have tried to disuade people from believing that daylight videos of Frigate birds are evidence for nocturnal ropens. But I believe in (and still publish nonfiction books on) living pterosaurs.

By: Dinosaurs: Before They Were Fuels » Archive » New extinction theory, a new dinosaur and more: Dinosaurs: BTWF 036

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:30:10 +0000

[...] Correction: “pterosaur” is just a bird [...]

By: Troy Britain

Troy Britain — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:37:18 +0000

I hadn’t heard about the discovery of Cenozoic coelacanth fossils, could you post a reference?

By: Mike from Ottawa

Mike from Ottawa — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:40:21 +0000

“Naturally, some might be disappointed that there is no evidence of living pterosaurs … The frigatebird in the video is a living, flying dinosaur … that fact is even more wonderful than the discovery of any long-lost species.”

But to have both living, flying dinosaurs _and_ extant pterosaurs would be even more wonderful. It may be greedy, but I shall continue to hope that pterosaurs have survived somewhere! (Mark Witton’s flat if his pictures are anything to go by)

By: Dave Hone

Dave Hone — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 07:46:18 +0000

*Ahem*

http://archosaurmusings.wordpress.com/2010/04/29/those-damned-ropens-again/

and much older:

http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?id=506
http://dinobase.gly.bris.ac.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?id=689

By: David

David — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 00:09:22 +0000

Fantastic post. Creationists like these are either incredibly gullible or liars. There is no other option.

Okay. Maybe dedicated performance artists.

How are we supposed to take these people seriously?

By: Crazyharp81602

Crazyharp81602 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:52:42 +0000

Don't forget me, too, Brian. I, too have addressed the Ropen myth on my Stupid Dinosaur Lies site. I'll have to address this latest claim when I have the time to do it-- probably tonight.

By: Nate

Nate — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:48:24 +0000

The white patch appears to extend onto the underwing coverts, which would make it Lesser Frigatebird (Fregatta ariel) by my eyes, but the poor video quality makes it hard to be sure. Both Great and Lesser nest in Australasia and would be present in New Guinea.

Someone should send Terrence Aym to Florida and show him the “Ropen” (Magnificent Frigatebirds) on Miami Beach. It probably would blow his mind.