Ropen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Ropen is a flying cryptid[1] alleged to live in the vicinity of Papua New Guinea.[2] 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.[3] 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 .[4] Descriptions vary, but it is often said to be batlike,[5] and sometimes, Pterosaur-like;[6] although pterosaurs are believed to have been extinct for 65 million years.[7][8] The ropen is believed to be nocturnal and to exhibit bioluminescence.[9][10] Purportedly it lives on a diet of fish,[11] though there have been some reports of the creature feasting on human flesh, especially grave robbery.[12][13][14]

[edit] Investigations

As an attempt to discredit mainstream scientific views on the age of the Earth, several expeditions [15] have been embarked upon by American creation scientists, including Carl Baugh, Paul Nation, Jonathan Whitcomb, [16] David Woetzel, and Garth Guessman. They hope that the discovery of a pterosaur in contemporary times will cast doubt on scientific views on the age of the Earth and the Theory of Evolution.[citation needed] However, it is unclear what bearing surviving pterosaurs would have on evolutionary theory.

In late 2006, Paul Nation, of Texas, explored a remote mountainous area on the mainland of Papua New Guinea.[17] He videotaped two lights that the local natives call "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.[18] 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.[19] [20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cryptozoology.com/cryptids/ropen.php.
  2. ^ Pterosaur-like Creatures Reported in Papua New Guinea
  3. ^ Expedition - A Pterodactyl in Papua New Guinea
  4. ^ PSL Gideon was terrified by the ropen
  5. ^ Living pterosaurs are not Flying Fox fruit bats
  6. ^ PSL Is the ropen a pterosaur?
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Robertson et al. (2004) Survival in the first hours of the Cenozoic. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America
  9. ^ .http://www.ropens.com/
  10. ^ Bioluminescent Organisms
  11. ^ Whitcomb's Book, Searching For Ropens, Asserts Pterodactyl Reported In Papua New Guinea - EWORLDWIRE
  12. ^ Michael of Opai Village and the ropen light
  13. ^ What Happened to Pterosaurs page 2
  14. ^ Jim Blume's ropen investigations in Papua New Guinea
  15. ^ Flying Dinosaurs in Papua New Guinea
  16. ^ PSL Ropen Light Sighting by David Woetzel
  17. ^ Living Pterosaur Expedition of 2006
  18. ^ Analysis of the Ropen-light Video, pg-1
  19. ^ Destination Truth - Ropen Episode (living pterosaur)
  20. ^ Season 1 - Episode 0103 - Page 3 | Destination Truth | SCIFI.COM