Ropen

The Ropen is a flying cryptid [http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids/ropen.php. ] alleged to live in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea. [ [http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/7/prweb413597.htm Pterosaur-like Creatures Reported in Papua New Guinea ] ] According to the book "Searching for Ropens", it is "any featherless creature that flies in the Southwest Pacific, and has a tail-length more than 25% of its wingspan." On Umboi Island the word "ropen" refers to a large nocturnal creature that glows briefly as it flies. [ [http://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/news-rel/ Expedition - A Pterodactyl in Papua New Guinea ] ] The ropen is the subject of folklore (like a man but also like a spirit) but it's believed by some natives to be a real animal. [ [http://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/boy/ PSL Gideon was terrified by the ropen ] ] Descriptions vary, but it is often said to be batlike, [ [http://members.aol.com/wlawvideo/pterosaur/ Living pterosaurs are not Flying Fox fruit bats ] ] and sometimes, Pterosaur-like; [ [http://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/ropen/ PSL Is the ropen a pterosaur? ] ] although pterosaurs are believed to have been extinct for 65 million years. [Penny et al. (2004) The rise of birds and mammals: are microevolutionary processes sufficient for macroevolution?. "Trends in ecology & evolution" vol. 19 (10) pp. 516-22] [Robertson et al. (2004) Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic. "Bulletin of the Geological Society of America" ] The ropen is believed to be nocturnal and to exhibit bioluminescence. [ http://www.ropens.com/] [ [http://members.aol.com/cypressall/biolumin-1/ Bioluminescent Organisms ] ] Purportedly it lives on a diet of fish, [ [http://www.eworldwire.com/pressreleases/15277 Whitcomb's Book, Searching For Ropens, Asserts Pterodactyl Reported In Papua New Guinea - EWORLDWIRE ] ] though there have been some reports of the creature feasting on human flesh, especially grave robbery. [ [http://www.objectiveness.com/michael/ Michael of Opai Village and the ropen light ] ] [ [http://members.aol.com/Cypressall/pterosaurs-pg-02/ What Happened to Pterosaurs page 2 ] ] [ [http://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/Blume/ Jim Blume's ropen investigations in Papua New Guinea ] ]

Investigations

As an attempt to discredit mainstream scientific views on the age of the Earth, several expeditions [ [http://www.objectiveness.com/flyingdinosaur/ Flying Dinosaurs in Papua New Guinea ] ] have been embarked upon by American creation scientists, including Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, Jonathan Whitcomb, [ [http://www.laattorneyvideo.com/nonlegal/pterosaurs/Woetzel/ PSL Ropen Light Sighting by David Woetzel ] ] David Woetzel, and Garth Guessman.

In late 2006, Paul Nation, of Texas, explored a remote mountainous area on the mainland of Papua New Guinea. [ [http://pages.prodigy.net/jonwhitcomb/nation2006/ Living Pterosaur Expedition of 2006 ] ] He videotaped two lights that the local natives called "indava." Paul Nation believed the lights were from the bioluminescence of creatures similar to the ropen of Umboi Island. The video was analyzed by a missile defense physicist who reported that the two lights on the video were not from any fires, meteors, airplanes or camera artifacts. He also reported that the image of the two lights was not caused by any paste-on hoax. [ [http://www.ropens.com/report/pg-01/ Analysis of the Ropen-light Video, pg-1 ] ] Later, the ropen was the subject of an episode of "Destination Truth". Host Joshua Gates captured images of luminescent objects in the sky that could not be identified. [ [http://members.aol.com/wlawvideo/ropen/ Destination Truth - Ropen Episode (living pterosaur) ] ] [ [http://www.scifi.com/destinationtruth/episodes/episodes.php?seas=1&ep=0103&act=3 Season 1 - Episode 0103 - Page 3 | Destination Truth | SCIFI.COM ] ]

References

* [http://www.objectiveness.com/ropen-cred/ Credibility of the Umboi Island eyewitnesses]
* [http://www.ropens.com/indava/ Indava and Ropen of Papua New Guinea]
* [http://www.livepterosaur.com/live_pterosaurs_and_evolution/ Live Pterosaurs and Evolution]