| | Ropen - Rhamphorhynchoid Pterosaur
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Ropen
The Ropen is a flying cryptid alleged to live in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea. Umboi Island is one particular locale it is believed to inhabit. Ropens are the subject of folklore but are believed by some natives to be real animals rather than spirits or mere mythology. Descriptions vary, but it is often said to be batlike, or more intriguingly, Pterosaur-like. The Ropen is believed to be nocturnal and to exhibit Bioluminescence. Purportedly it lives on a diet of fish, though there have been some reports, however, of the creature feasting on human flesh.
From 1994 through 2004, at least six Americans have explored Umboi Island (Papua New Guinea), searching for a nocurnal pterosaur-like creature called "ropen." No photographic evidence is yet available, in spite of a purported photo taken by a lady pilot, long ago (apparently lost). Evidence that the ropen is real and resembles a long-tailed pterosaur is almost entirely from eyewitnesses. The strength of this case is not in any one account but in the relationships bet- weeen many accounts.
I began my passionate investigation of the ropen around the summer of 2003. In September of 2004, I found an interpreter on the mainland of Papua New Guinea, and the two of us took a small ship to Umboi Island. In two weeks, I saw nothing, but my interpreter saw the glowing form that we think was the large ropen of the interior of the island. From June, 2005, through June, 2006, I compared notes from all the investigations and wrote my first book, "Searching for Ropens."
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Sightings
Over 90% of the sightings on Umboi are of a distant, fast, glowing form--indistinct. We believe it's an intrinsic bioluminescence for it lasts for close to five to six seconds and is seen consistantly either over a reef or at an altitude of 200-600 feet over land. Night- time is preferred by the ropen.
What I call the "ropen light" phenomenon has been seen by hundreds of people on Umboi. It is said to be faster than birds and the color has been described in so many ways that I tend to think of it as a complex color display. An American investigative explorer who saw it describes the light as "shimmering."
What qualifies the creature as a pterosaur candidate is the description when it is seen up close. It's common to hear "no feathers" or "like a bat" or "long tail." The mouth has been described as beak-like and crocodile-like. Some see a head crest and some see a "flange" or "diamond" on the tail.
The third kind of sighting is rare: the ropen, at night, is seen close enough to show its form and it is glowing. This kind of account is the key that brings together the nocturnal glow and the other pterosaur-like descriptions: We now do not need to rely on the native traditions about the ropen light, for it is shown to be the same creature that has been described like a pterosaur.
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Investigations
The Ropen was the subject of an episode of Destination Truth. Host Joshua Gates captured images of flying luminescant objects that could not be identified by a specialist in Papua New Guinea's native bird species.
As an attempt to discredit mainstream scientific views on the age of the earth, several expeditions have been embarked upon by creation scientists. They hope that the discovery of a pterosaur in contemporary times will cast doubt on secular views on the age of the earth and the Theory of Evolution.
If a Ropen could be caught (dead or alive or perhaps simply on film), I propose that a (more) logical conclusion would be that these bioluminescent night-flyers are actually prolific throughout the globe and are an obvious candidate for the many cases of reported ufos.
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