Ropen

Cryptids Creatures (28 items)
list by filthyhandsgod

The Ropen, meaning "demon flyer",is a cryptid thought to be either a big bat, or more commonly, a pterosaur on New Guinea Island[1]. It is said to produce a light, possibly to attract fish. The Ropen is cryptid alleged to live in the vicinity of the Indonesian Papua province and the nation of 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 the Island, the word "ropen" refers to a large nocturnal creature that glows briefly as it flies.

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. Descriptions vary, but it is often said to be batlike, and sometimes, pterosaur-like—although pterosaurs are generally accepted to have been extinct. The ropen is believed to be nocturnal and to exhibit bioluminescence. Purportedly it lives on a diet of fish, though there have been some reports of the creature feasting on human flesh, especially from grave robbery.It is reported to have a wingspan anywere from 12-100+ft.