A Pterosaur in Texas
Written by Researcher Ken Gerhard
On Thursday, the 09th of October 2003, I interviewed Richard Guzman of southeast Houston, regarding an unidentified flying animal that he witnessed along with a companion in the early nineteen eighties. The event came to light after Mr. Guzman overheard a good friend of mine discussing Bigfoot at a job sight they were working together. According to my associate, Mr. Guzman came forward with the account after some apprehension and explained that he had been ridiculed in the past whenever he had brought the subject up. After my personal interview with Mr. Guzman, I was convinced by his sincerity and also by the consistency of his story, as I asked him questions. Here is his sighting as best he can remember.
At the time, Guzman was in his early twenties and was living at his family's house at 10005 Lucore Street off Allen Genoa and 225, between Pasadena and Houston. He believes that the sighting happened in 1983, but admits that it might have been a year or two earlier. He also thinks that it was probably summer, based on the foliage and warm weather. Richard and his longtime friend Rudy were outside leaning on Richard's Chrysler at around 6:00pm. It was still daylight with clear skies. Suddenly, they both caught sight of a creature that was flying about fifty feet off, but parallel to the ground in a more or less straight line about forty yards away. They both watched it for about fifteen seconds until it disappeared into some tall trees to the southeast of their location. According to my original contact, Guzman first described the animal as a "leathery bird" or "one of those pterodactyls on the Flintstones (cartoon show)." Richard later told me that it reminded him of Rodan from the Japanese monster movies. His description is as follows - "What got me at first was the head and tail," he explained. In three separate illustrations that he drew, the subject possesses a pointy beak, as well as a crest on the top of its head. Guzman's clearest memory is of its long snake-like tail that terminated in a sort of flange or sail. He insisted that the tail remained horizontal or rigid behind the creature's body as it flew by. Richard estimated that the animal's total length was about five feet, including the two-foot long tail, and that its total wingspan was about five feet across. He described the creature as being completely without feathers and its skin as being a golden tan, brown, or beige like leather. He also described the wings as looking like bat wings and noted that the creature mostly glided, only flapping its wings a couple of times slowly. He also distinctly remembered some kind of vertical indention (nostril?) in the side of the animal's skull. Guzman cannot recall for sure whether or not he saw any legs.
After the sighting, both men were startled and began to slowly question each other in order to confirm that they had both seen the same thing. Unfortunately, Rudy's life has subsequently taken a turn for the worse and he is currently incarcerated in the Houston City Jail. But Richard insists that Rudy will back up his testimony 100% if and when I can arrange an interview with him separately. As I mentioned earlier, Guzman apparently has only discussed this incident a few times and has always been ridiculed. Furthermore, he seemingly has no knowledge of either zoology or paleontology and has never been able to figure out exactly what it was that he saw that day. He also seems completely unaware that modem sightings of pterosaurs have been reported by other people.
It is worth noting the well-documented case of Harlingen ambulance driver James Thompson, who claimed to have seen an almost identical animal, less than three hundred miles to the southwest around the same time period. The serpentine tail is very indicative of the small pterosaurs known as rhamphorhynchoids. However, these early pterosaurs of the Jurrasic period supposedly did not possess the distinctive head crest of the later and larger pterodactyls. The distinctive tail also raises questions about a possible connection to legendary winged animals such as the Quetzalcoatl of Mexico, Piasa of Illinois and the Jersey Devil. Worldwide, some modern rhamphorhynchoid sightings have also come out of Africa (Kongamato) and New Guinea (Ropen). Dr. Karl Shuker once wrote that he was not aware of any rhamphorynchoid sightings from Texas besides James Thompson's. Now we have another one on record.
--------------------------------------
I just made contact with Ken and hopefully will be in the works of an expedition. As for now, I am trying to get a new kayak. Ken wants to interview Seve' and I this week about our sighting!
!!!! Disclaimer !!!!
If you read his book remember that he believes in Old Earth.
