Scientific Paper on Living Pterosaurs
Creation Research Society Quarterly, Winter, 2009 issue
When David Woetzel's scientific paper "
The Fiery Flying Serpent" was published in the Creation Research Society Quarterly (in Volume
42, March, 2006), the many references to possible living pterosaurs in scriptures and in old historical documents impressed me. But
this left limited space in
his scientific paper for details of recent expeditions in Papua New Guinea (Woetzel and I had been on separate
expeditions on Umboi Island in late-2004).
I felt a need for a more detailed account of recent living-pterosaur investigations,
but my writings at the time were mostly in my book
Searching for Ropens.
After writing the second edition of my book, I found time to write a scientific paper for the Creation Research Society: "Reports of Living Pterosaurs
in the Southwest Pacific."
Although still mostly on a cryptozoological foundation like Woetzel's paper, my paper left out Bible references and quotations of old documents. There were too many details about modern live-pterosaur investigations to cover.
"Eyewitness testimonies can be divided into two categories: those describing a flying light and those describing a creature.
Four of the eyewitnesses describe both a glow and a shape or features, connecting
the two types of description."
I tried to include
enough details about the expeditions of Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, Garth Guessman, and David Woetzel.
By Jonathan Whitcomb