Reports of Living Pterosaurs
According to the American nonfiction author Jonathan Whitcomb, many eyewitness accounts of live pterosaurs
cannot be reasonably dismissed as pranks, misidentifications, or hallucinations. He cites statistical data.
Updated contact info.: KSN News Release
Jonathan Whitcomb
5347 South New Hampton
Murray, Utah 84123 Press Room on Live Pterosaurs
EMAIL
Web Page: About Whitcomb
Blog: Live Pterosaur
Living Pterosaurs on Youtube
For Immediate Release
LONG BEACH, Calif/KSN/Jan 1, 2013 ---
Pterosaurs, commonly called “pterodactyls,” live in various parts of the
world, according to Jonathan Whitcomb, of Long Beach, California. He has
written three nonfiction books, based on eyewitness reports that he has
received over the nine years of his investigation in cryptozoology.
By the end of 2012, he had compiled statistics on the more credible sightings,
including details that, after examination, make hoaxes an unsatisfactory
explanation for the reports overall.
Long tails dominate. Of those eyewitnesses who specified tail length or the
presence or absence of a long tail, 95% reported a long tail. This alone
discredits any skeptic’s insinuation that the sightings are mostly hoaxes, for
few, if any, hoaxers would report a long-tailed pterosaur. Films and
television have given us images of pterosaurs without long tails, with few
exceptions. Hoaxers would not likely report something contrary to what is
commonly seen in film or on television.
Overall statistics for wingspan estimates also count against any major hoax
involvement. For those eyewitnesses who made estimates of wingspan, 31%
(23 out of 74) reported sizes greater than seven feet but less than fifteen feet.
If many hoaxes were involved, this range (7-15 feet, non-inclusive) would
have been much less; it relates to two factors:
1) Many sighting reports include a description of a long tail, and that type of
pterosaur (Rhamphorhynchoid), known from its many fossils, is thought of as
small, generally less than seven feet in wingspan.
2) Dramatic depictions of pterosaurs, both in movies and on television,
generally involve huge size, often with wingspans over fifteen feet.
Any major hoax involvement would have made the 7-15 feet range of
wingspans less than 31%, so few (if any) hoaxes were involved.
Reports that indicate the probability of lack of feathers---those reports give
us an additional insight. Of all the sighting reports compiled into the
database by the end of 2012, those in which eyewitnesses were sure of the
lack of any feathers was 21% but those eyewitnesses who thought it only
probable (that there were no feathers) was 25%.
If hoaxes played a major role in the sighting reports, an insistence on lack of
feathers would dominate. This is the opposite of what the overall data shows
for this characteristic. Eyewitnesses who are positive about featherlessness
are outnumbered by those who are not positive about it.
Misidentification sometimes comes up. On occasion, somebody will see a
Frigate bird and report it as a possible ropen (modern long-tailed pterosaur).
But those reports compiled into the database were the ones less likely to be
from misidentifications. The combination of featherless appearance, long
tail, and head crest (common combinations in the reports) make
misidentification of birds or bats unlikely.
In addition, some eyewitnesses later examined photographs of Frigate birds
and found them far different from what they had witnessed.
Hallucination is unreasonable for most sightings, for 53% of them involved
multiple eyewitnesses (47% were individuals), and some of the interviews
were lengthy enough to filter out obvious mental health issues.
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See another KSN News Release: “Griffith Park Pterosaurs”
Jonathan David Whitcomb, author of
three nonfiction cryptozoology books
on living pterosaurs, including the
most recent ebook on sightings in
Australia and in Papua New Guinea
Table of Contents in the nonfiction book
by Whitcomb: Live Pterosaurs in
Australia and in Papua New Guinea
From the book’s Introduction:
Western indoctrination into universal
extinctions---that subject may deserve a
book of its own; we'll cover it only in
part, mostly in the first chapter.
Youtube video “Giant Pterodactyl in
California” (channel Protect Animal Life),
an upbeat music video based upon Bach
Another Youtube video on living pterosaurs:
“Do Pterodactyls Live in Hawaii?”