Encounters with living pterosaurs Live "pterodactyls?" In the United States? Many scientists have long assumed all pterosaurs died millions of years ago. Now take a whirlwind tour of many years of investigations in cryptozoology, and prepare for a shock: At least two species of pterosaurs have survived, uncommon, not so much rare as widely, thinly distributed. Nocturnal pterosaurs have always lived among us, but hidden by something. Enter now the realm of a new branch of cryptozoology, a branch overshadowed by the dogma of a "universal extinction." How did scientists miss living pterosaurs? Get the answers here, hidden secrets about how these amazing flying creatures of the night have gone mostly unreported: Until recently, almost nobody would listen to eyewitnesses; but for the past seven years many of them have been interviewed by the author of this book. Many modern pterosaurs are much larger than any bat, many with long tails, many with head crests. What about news headlines? How did these creatures avoid media attention? Get the answers from years of work by American cryptozoologists. The old "fruit bat" explanation for reports of pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea--that bat idea has now been shot down; the tail length of the larger creatures has been estimated at a minimum of ten feet and a maximum of over twenty feet. More shocking, these giant long-tailed flying creatures are not confined to the southwest Pacific: They are seen in the contiguous United States of America. Most pterosaurs in North America, however, are smaller, with many wingspan estimates at less than fifteen feet; nevertheless, how shocking! What amazing encounters! In California, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other states, eyewitnesses have seen strange featherless creatures flying overhead. These are not bats; most have long tails and are bigger than any bat. Dive into eyewitness testimonies; compare sightings through the author's detailed analysis. Third edition, nonfiction

The most authoritative illustrated book on flying reptiles available For 150 million years, the skies didn't belong to birds—they belonged to the pterosaurs. These flying reptiles, which include the pterodactyls, shared the world with the nonavian dinosaurs until their extinction 65 million years ago. Some pterosaurs, such as the giant azhdarchids, were the largest flying animals of all time, with wingspans exceeding thirty feet and standing heights comparable to modern giraffes. This richly illustrated book takes an unprecedented look at these astonishing creatures, presenting the latest findings on their anatomy, ecology, and extinction. Pterosaurs features some 200 stunning illustrations, including original paintings by Mark Witton and photos of rarely seen fossils. After decades of mystery, paleontologists have finally begun to understand how pterosaurs are related to other reptiles, how they functioned as living animals, and, despite dwarfing all other flying animals, how they managed to become airborne. Here you can explore the fossil evidence of pterosaur behavior and ecology, learn about the skeletal and soft-tissue anatomy of pterosaurs, and consider the newest theories about their cryptic origins. This one-of-a-kind book covers the discovery history, paleobiogeography, anatomy, and behaviors of more than 130 species of pterosaur, and also discusses their demise at the end of the Mesozoic. The most comprehensive book on pterosaurs ever published Features some 200 illustrations, including original paintings by the author Covers every known species and major group of pterosaurs Describes pterosaur anatomy, ecology, behaviors, diversity, and more Encourages further study with 500 references to primary pterosaur literature

Encounters with living pterosaurs Live "pterodactyls?" In the United States? Many scientists have long assumed all pterosaurs died millions of years ago. Now take a whirlwind tour of many years of investigations in cryptozoology, and prepare for a shock: At least two species of pterosaurs have survived, uncommon, not so much rare as widely, thinly distributed. Nocturnal pterosaurs have always lived among us, but hidden by something. Enter now the realm of a new branch of cryptozoology, a branch overshadowed by the dogma of a "universal extinction." How did scientists miss living pterosaurs? Get the answers here, hidden secrets about how these amazing flying creatures of the night have gone mostly unreported: Until recently, almost nobody would listen to eyewitnesses; but for the past seven years many of them have been interviewed by the author of this book. Many modern pterosaurs are much larger than any bat, many with long tails, many with head crests. What about news headlines? How did these creatures avoid media attention? Get the answers from years of work by American cryptozoologists. The old "fruit bat" explanation for reports of pterosaurs in Papua New Guinea--that bat idea has now been shot down; the tail length of the larger creatures has been estimated at a minimum of ten feet and a maximum of over twenty feet. More shocking, these giant long-tailed flying creatures are not confined to the southwest Pacific: They are seen in the contiguous United States of America. Most pterosaurs in North America, however, are smaller, with many wingspan estimates at less than fifteen feet; nevertheless, how shocking! What amazing encounters! In California, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many other states, eyewitnesses have seen strange featherless creatures flying overhead. These are not bats; most have long tails and are bigger than any bat. Dive into eyewitness testimonies; compare sightings through the author's detailed analysis. Expanded second edition, nonfiction

Fly above common true-life adventures, and dive into what may become the most unsettling scientific discovery since Copernicus and Galileo: living pterosaurs of the modern world--what a discovery! It soars above disputes about religion, revealing why an official discovery of an extraordinary animal has been delayed for so long. Above all, this explores human experience: eyewitnesses and those who interviewed them. People have become connected by common encounters; persons of various faiths, with various levels of education, from various countries and cultures, have seen a living pterosaur, commonly called "pterodactyl." Notwithstanding the delay in the official scientific discovery, eyewitnesses from around the world continue to encounter these flying creatures: featherless, long-tailed, often larger than any known bird. A few Americans explored a few islands in the southwest Pacific, in brief expeditions scattered between 1993 and 2007, looking for a modern pterosaur. "Creationist" each man was labeled, yet many of those following them, in recent years, carried no religious purpose. The creatures have many names: seklo-bali, duwas, wawanar, indava, kor, kundua. In Papua New Guinea, natives in isolated communities speak in village languages numbering in the hundreds, yet many natives carry a common fear in the dark: a huge glowing creature flying in the night. Natives on Umboi Island call it "ropen." Three American Christians--one middle-aged LDS-Mormon high priest and two younger Protestant Young Earth Creationists--explored parts of Umboi Island in two separate expeditions in 2004, interviewing native eyewitnesses of the elusive ropen. They returned home even more convinced that long-tailed pterosaurs live, even thrive, in Papua New Guinea. This resulted in the publication of several books, two scientific papers in a peer-reviewed journal, and over a thousand blog posts, written mostly by those who trudged the jungle trails of Umboi themselves and spoke with the eyewitnesses face to face. Those two expeditions in 2004 also cleared the path for other searches in Papua New Guinea and elsewhere, including expeditions led by those with no religious purpose in searching for ropens, namely the Destination Truth and Monsterquest television shows. This book illustrates how we succeed better by working with those of different faiths in pursuing a common goal, in this case finding a modern living pterosaur and supporting each other in our common beliefs and values. Why has the official scientific discovery been so long delayed? The causes are multiple and interrelated, but one obstacle has been resolved. Speculation that religious bias of investigators has played a big part in sighting reports of apparent pterosaurs--that conjecture has been shot down. Consider the words of Sandra Paradise, an eyewitness in Georgia: "The world is now totally different. I feel blessed that God has allowed me to see this creature that should not be here, and yet is, this strange dragon-like thing that lives somewhere in the woods . . ." Steven Cottingham, a government official in New Guinea many years ago, told the author, "My sighting occurred at night near Lab Lab on the southern tip of Umboi. The light lasted for four to five seconds, and until reading your reports now, have never been able to explain the sighting." The American flight instructor Duane Hodgkinson told the author about his encounter with a long-tailed flying creature in New Guinea: "It was a big one! I have a Piper Tri-Pacer airplane [wingspan twenty nine feet] and it appeared to be about that size." Patty Carson, of Southern California, said, "It did have a tail and it had a diamond shaped tip . . . The skin was a leathery, brownish reddish color. It had little teeth, a LOT of them."

Pterosaurs were a peculiar group of Mesozoic vertebrates, which acquired the ability to fly in an original way, using a membrane attached to a single finger of the hand. Ever since the first description of a pterosaur skeleton in 1784, these remarkable animals have elicited much discussion and controversy among palaeontologists, and many basic questions about their origin, evolution and biology remain disputed. In the last few years, interest in pterosaurs has been revived by numerous discoveries of new and sometimes remarkably preserved specimens, which have enlarged and changed our picture of this group. The volume begins with descriptions of several new pterosaurs from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous of Europe, North and South America, and Africa. Following this, alternative hypotheses of pterosaur phytogeny and evolution are put forward. Several papers discuss the functional anatomy of pterosaurs and its implications for aerial locomotion. The study of pterosaur footprints provides important new evidence concerning their terrestrial locomotion, and this approach is used in several contributions. A developing aspect of pterosaur research is bone histology, as shown by the final papers in this collection.

From pre-Columbian legends to modern-day eyewitness accounts, this comprehensive guide covers the history, sightings and lore surrounding the most mysterious monsters in America—including Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, and more. Bigfoot, the chupacabra, and thunderbirds aren’t just figments of our overactive imaginations—according to thousands of eyewitnesses, they exist, in every corner of the United States. Throughout America’s history, shocked onlookers have seen unbelievable creatures of every stripe—from sea serpents to apelike beings, giant bats to monkeymen—in every region. Author, investigator, and creature expert Linda S. Godfrey brings the same fearless reporting she lent to Real Wolfmen to this essential guide, using historical record, present-day news reports, and eyewitness interviews to examine this hidden menagerie of America’s homegrown beasts.

As children, we are captivated by stories of huge fantastical creatures, such as the wooly mammoth and the pterodactyl. The prevailing wisdom is these species are long extinct, but new evidence uncovered by author Gerald McIsaac casts doubt on these widely held assumptions. McIsaac gathered stories from the elders of the First Nation—those who were formerly referred to as Indians, Native Americans, or Aboriginals. First Nation elders provided McIsaac with detailed descriptions of six species long thought to be extinct. These species include the Devil Bird, the Hairy Elephant, the Wilderness Wolf, the Rubber-Faced Bear, the Lake Monster, and Sasquatch. In Bird from Hell, McIsaac separates fact from fiction by comparing eyewitness accounts of these species with scientific opinion concerning their identity. His conclusion is that these huge species are not extinct, but he needs assistance in gathering evidence to substantiate this claim. By following the simple directions provided in Bird from Hell, you can help prove these various species still exist.