http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa061702a.htm
They were the largest creatures to ever attain flight. With
wingspans reaching nearly 40 feet, pterosaurs ruled the prehistoric
skies for over 100 million years, until they died out with the
dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.
Or did they?
There have been many modern-day sightings of creatures that by
eyewitness description sound like pterosaurs. There are also
intriguing rock carvings and even photographs that suggest that
this species of amazing flying monsters could have survived
extinction, could have soared through the skies of the southwestern
United States until very recently, and might still exist in small
numbers in remote parts of the world.
Pterosaurs were not dinosaurs, but a family of large flying
reptiles ("pterosaur" means "winged lizard") that includes the
pterodactyl and pteranodon. The pterosaur stood on two rather
spindly legs and had wings composed of a leathery membrane that
stretched from the animal's extremely long fourth finger to its
body. Despite their appearance, they were not related to birds (as
dinosaurs are theorized to be), and were highly successful flyers
that might have dined on fish and insects.
Modern Sightings
Although there seems to be no hard evidence that pterosaurs did not
die out millions of years ago - no pterosaurs have ever been
captured and no bodies have ever been found - sightings have
persisted. Stories of flying reptiles have been recorded for many
hundreds of years. Some think that tales of the "mythical" dragons
in the lore of many cultures around the would could be attributed
to the sighting of pterosaurs. Here are some more modern
accounts:
May, 1961, New York State - A businessman flying his private plane
over the Hudson River Valley claimed that he was "buzzed" by a
large flying creature that he said "looked more like a pterodactyl
out of the prehistoric ages."
Early 1960s, California - A couple driving through Trinity National
Forest reported seeing the silhouette of a giant "bird" that they
estimated to have a wingspan of 14 feet. They later described it as
resembling a pterodactyl.
January, 1976, Harlingen, Texas - Jackie Davis (14) and Tracey
Lawson (11) reported seeing a "bird" on the ground that stood five
feet tall, was dark in color with a bald head and a face like a
gorilla's with a sharp, six-inch-long beak. A subsequent
investigation by their parents uncovered tracks that had three toes
and were eight inches across.
February, 1976, San Antonio, Texas - Three elementary school
teachers saw what they described as a pterodactyl swooping low over
their cars as they drove. They said its wingspan was between 15 and
20 feet. One of the teachers commented that it glided through the
air on huge, bony wings - like a bat's.
September, 1982, Los Fresnos, Texas - An ambulance driver named
James Thompson was stopped while driving on Highway 100 by his
sighting of a "large birdlike object" flying low over the area. He
described it as black or grayish with a rough texture, but no
feathers. It had a five- to six-foot wingspan, a hump on the back
of its head, and almost no neck at all. After consulting some books
to identify the creature, he decided it most looked like a
pterosaur.
Africa's Kongamato
While other reports of pterosaur-like creatures have come out of
Arizona, Mexico and Crete, it is out of central Africa that some of
the most interesting anecdotes have come. While traveling though
Zambia in 1923, Frank H. Melland collected reports from natives of
an aggressive flying reptile they called kongamoto, which means
"overwhelmer of boats." The natives, who were occasionally
tormented by these creatures, described them as being featherless
with smooth skin, having a beak full of teeth and a wingspan of
between four and seven feet. When shown illustrations of
pterosaurs, Melland reported, "every native present immediately and
unhesitatingly picked out and identified it as a kongamato."
In 1925, a native man was allegedly attacked by a creature that he
identified as a pterosaur. This occurred near a swamp in Rhodesia
(now Zambia) where the man suffered a large wound in his chest that
he said was caused by the monster's long beak.
In the late 1980s, noted cryptozoologist Roy Mackal led an
expedition into Namibia from which he had heard reports of a
prehistoric-looking creature with a wingspan of up to 30
feet.
