On 13 March 2019, I blogged here on ShukerNature about various reports emanating from New Guinea and its smaller neighbouring islands (especially New Britain) concerning large unidentified creatures that have sometimes been likened to living non-avian dinosaurs. In particular, I documented some searches made during this present century for such cryptids by mystery beast investigators Brian Irwin and Todd Jurasek (click here to access this ShukerNature article of mine).
Lately, moreover, Brian has kindly made freely available to me for full use on ShukerNature an extensive report written by him that not only covers some of the incidents recorded by me in my previous article but also contains much additional, fresh information, including details relating to further, more recent searches by him. Consequently, and with Brian's kind permission, I now have pleasure in reproducing below his complete report, which includes a number of illustrations all supplied by him and whose copyright, unless otherwise noted, belongs to him. Thanks Brian!
Is A Large Theropod Still Alive In Papua New Guinea?
By Brian Irwin
Tim
Neville is an Australian who worked for the Wallindi Plantation Resort at
Kimbe, West New Britain in Papua New Guinea. In 1992-93, Tim was diving off the
east coast of Alage (Aui) Island, located off the south coast of West New
Britain between Kandrian and Gasmata. While diving, Tim observed some large
three toed foot prints of an unknown animal in the mud on the ocean floor. Tim
later enquired at the neighbouring Ambungi and Sep Sep Islands about the
existence of a living dinosaur. No one at these islands had knowledge of any
such creature at that time. However, sightings of an animal resembling a theropod
dinosaur commenced around Ambungi Island a couple of years later.1
The author has travelled to West New Britain numerous times.2 With the exception of Alphones Likky, all eyewitnesses in this report were interviewed during an expedition in November 2022. Alphones was interviewed by the author in 2012.
The three islands located on the south of West New Britain between Kandrian and Gasmata where the reptilian creature has been sighted. Each square on the map represents one square kilometre.
Alphones Likky’s sighting in 1995
Alphones was spear fishing on the reef on the east side of Ambungi Island in 1995. While he was underwater on the bottom of the reef and facing south, he heard something crashing into the coral behind him. When Alphones turned around he was startled to see a large animal only about 5 metres away and fully submersed. The animal had a long neck and tail, with large rear legs and duck-like feet. The forelimbs were much smaller than the rear legs. The skin was dark brown and the head was small and snake-like. A dermal frill (‘saw’) was seen on the animal’s back and tail, but not on the neck. The animal was bipedal and walked slowly with its neck horizontal. The tail was observed to be moving considerably while the animal was walking. The creature was approximately 4 metres in length from the front limbs to the end of the tail and the height was 2 to 3 metres. The sighting may have lasted up to 10 seconds before Alphones surfaced and left the area in fear. There are some small caves on the east of Ambungi Island and Alphones said the animal was heading in the direction of one of the caves. However the animal was not observed to enter the cave and it is unlikely an animal of the size described by Alphones could enter the relatively small caves on the east side of Ambungi Island. Afterwards a local school library reference book with animals was found and Alphones identified a dinosaur with large rear legs and smaller forelimbs as the kind of animal he observed near Ambungi Island.3
Alphones Likky (left) on the mainland of West New Britain in 2012.
Alice Pasingan’s sighting in 1999
One morning in 1999 around 6-7 am, Alice was alone in her garden at the south of Ambungi Island near the sea. She was astonished to see a large bipedal reptilian animal walking slowly about 12 metres away to the south. The animal was estimated to be 1.9 metres tall and had a dermal frill from the back of the head to the end of the tail. Alice’s husband, Martin, later drew a picture of the creature under instruction from Alice (see drawing below). The colour was brown and the belly was red. The animal’s body and tail moved from side to side and the neck was upright as it walked. No sound was heard from the creature. When the animal saw Alice, it seemed frightened and it opened its mouth to reveal sharp teeth. The creature then turned around and walked slowly down an incline to a 2-metre cliff then jumped into the sea. Alice watched the animal from a rock ledge near the incline (see photo below) as it headed towards the sea. The sighting lasted about 2 minutes, during which time Alice’s dog ran away. This is the only known sighting of this kind of animal on the land at Ambungi Island.
Martin’s (Alice’s husband) drawing of the animal seen by Alice in her garden.
It took 3-4 attempts till Alice was happy with the drawing.
The path the animal took down to the sea when it was disturbed by Alice.
Another view of the incline the animal walked down towards the sea.
Alice watched the animal from the rock ledge where the photo was taken.
The animal jumped off the 2-metre cliff into the sea.
Alice’s garden looking north from the rock ledge.
Alice and Martin Pasingan with their grandchildren.
Robert Biket’s sighting in 2006
One afternoon at Easter (April) 2006, Robert was walking south along the coastline on the eastern side of Ambungi Island. It was high tide. As Robert rounded a corner and at a distance of about 20 metres, he was amazed to see a large, bipedal reptilian creature standing on rocks near the shoreline. The animal was feeding on the leaves and fruit of trees and was eating with short, powerful teeth. The creature had a long neck with a head resembling a turtle’s head, large rear legs and small forelimbs, and a long flat tail. The webbed feet were black and were similar to those of a duck. While eating, the neck was vertical, the forelimbs and tail were not moving and the fingers were closed. There was no dermal frill. It was estimated the creature was 4.5 metres tall and its colour was medium grey. The skin appeared smooth, with fine hairs on the body. The feet were visible because the animal was standing on shore some of the time while eating. Robert said the size of the cryptid’s head was larger than the diameter of the neck. Robert started yelling to anyone onshore. However, the animal did not take any notice of Robert. After watching the creature eating for a few minutes, Robert hurried back ashore to the ravine where the reptile was eating (see photo below). It may have taken 5 minutes for Robert to get to the ravine from the sea. When he reached the ravine, Tony Avil and Rapheel Sange joined Robert in watching the animal as it continued to eat. After finishing eating, the creature travelled south a few metres from the shore and the three men moved down the ravine to the water and watched as the animal moved slowly into deeper water. The animal walked upright, with the body moving from side to side and with the tail moving noticeably. After the sighting, the school teachers on Ambungi Island did not initially believe Robert’s account of the sighting and made him swear on the Bible in the Catholic Church that he was telling the truth. From the author’s copy of the book Dinosaurs And Prehistoric Life (written by Hazel Richardson), Robert identified the Lufengosaurus theropod4 as the closest match to the reptile he observed.
Tony Avil sighted the animal from the top of a ravine at a distance of about 30 metres for about 15 minutes. He only saw the head and neck of the creature while it was eating, with the head being shaped like that of a turkey and the neck always vertical as it was moving forward eating leaves and fruit from trees. Tony stated the skin colour was brown/silver and smooth.
Robert standing at the location where the large bipedal reptilian creature was sighted.
Another view of the sighting location in the morning at low tide. The tree foliage can be seen.
The animal was seen eating the leaves and fruit (shown above) from this tree, which has been tentatively identified as Ficus ingens [the red-leaved fig tree].
.
Jasinta Pitim’s sighting in 2007
One afternoon in 2007, Jasinta was walking south on the rocks on the west side of Ambungi Island. It was high tide and it was raining. Rounding a corner at a distance of about 25 metres, Jasinta observed the large body of an animal in the water between rocks (see picture below). The head, legs and tail of the creature were not seen, however a dermal frill (‘saw’) was seen on the animal’s back, the skin was rough and the colour was dark brown. The creature quickly moved away from Jasinta into deeper water. Jasinta hurried back to the village after sighting the animal and no one returned to the location where the sighting occurred for five days because the animal was considered dangerous.
Location of Jasinta’s sighting at the south-west of Ambungi Island at low tide.
Joe and Jasinta Pitim’s sighting in 2014
In June or July 2014 at around 8 am, Joe and Jasinta were travelling west back to Ambungi Island from Malengo Island5 in a canoe. From a distance of about 30 metres they observed the head, long neck, forelimbs and back of an animal that had had head like a dog and no ears. The neck was vertical and the visible part of the creature was about one metre above the water. There was a dermal frill (‘saw’) on the head, along the neck and the back of the animal. The colour was dark brown and the skin was rough looking. The size of the head was described as being larger than the diameter of the neck. The mouth was closed and the animal was stationary and did not turn its head. The animal made no sound during the sighting. After about two minutes the creature submerged and the canoe passed over the place where animal was last seen. Joe and Jasinta were very afraid of the creature and Jasinta believes this animal is the same kind of animal she observed on the south west side of Ambungi Island in 2007.
The author (left) with Joe, Jasinta and Mark Pitim at Ambungi Island.
Gabriel Lilo’s sighting in 2021
Gabriel Lilo is from Malengo Island and had a sighting of the creature while fishing half a kilometre from the eastern side of Ambungi Island. The sighting was in August 2021, around 4 pm at a distance of 40-50 metres for a few minutes. Gabriel observed the head, neck and front limbs of the animal and noted that it had a dermal frill. The colour was dark green and the animal was walking slowly on the reef with its head and body moving side-to-side. The texture of the skin could not be determined and the animal’s teeth were not visible. Gabriel eventually paddled away, afraid. This was Gabriel’s only sighting of this animal.
Gabriel Lilo (right) with Jerome Lunga at Melengo Island. Jerome helped translate from Pidgin to English.
Mark Pitim’s sighting in 2022
Mark had a probable sighting of this creature on 4th November 2022 around 5 pm while canoeing from Alage (Aiu) Island to Ambungi Island with his son. The back of an animal was sighted as it travelled west to east at a distance of approximately 20 metres. The visible length of the creature was about 3 metres, with 50 cm being above the water. The colour was described as very dark and the animal had no dermal frill. The sighting lasted about a minute before the animal submerged. Mark was certain the animal was not a dugong.
Mark holding a wood carving similar to the creature that has been sighted around Ambungi Island.
Discussion
The
sightings around Ambungi Island all seem to be of the same kind of creature and
there have been numerous other sightings not included here. The common features
of this animal include:
1. A long neck
2. Smallish head with larger diameter than the neck
3. Large body
4. Bipedal, with hind feet being duck-like with three toes
5. Small front limbs
6. Long tail
7. Reptilian appearance
8. Herbivorous
The only noticeable difference between sightings is the lack of a dermal frill on some animals. The Lufengosaurus dinosaur matches the creature sighted around Ambungi Island, although other theropods may fit the description also. There is no known animal alive today that fits the description of this creature.
There may be a small population involved and it is encouraging to know that there have been recent sightings of this creature. There has been only one confirmed land sighting of the animal at Ambungi Island (Alice Pasingan) and this may have been a juvenile, judging by its height. Most of the sightings are to the east and south of Ambungi Island. At neighbouring Amge (Sep Sep) Island there have been no sightings of this animal. At Alage (Aiu) Island there is only one family living there and they do not have knowledge of the animal, although there are reports that previous inhabitants may have sighted this animal occasionally. The animals involved may be attracted to Ambungi Island because of the fruit on the Ficus ingens trees and perhaps the fruit of other trees. The Ficus ingens normally fruits in February to April and June in the southern hemisphere. At Ambungi Island, there are some tree branches overhanging into the sea, so the animal may not need to venture onto land to feed. It is unknown where these reptiles may be laying their eggs. Hopefully, further research will result in more information about this cryptid and lead to its eventual discovery.
Endnotes
1. John Lunga, an elder at Ambungi Island, provided the information about Tim Neville. The staff at Wallindi Plantation Resort at Kimbe, WNB did not have any additional information about Tim.
2. Todd Jurasek, Joey Massang, Russell Cook and Matt Clarke have also travelled to Ambungi Island over the last 10 years to investigate this animal.
3. John Lunga provided the information about Alphones identifying the animal from a book.
4. The author interviewed Robert Biket briefly in 2008 where he identified the Therizinosaurus from the same book as the bipedal reptilian creature he sighted. During the 2022 expedition when more time was available, Robert identified the Lufengosaurus theropod as a better match to the animal he observed in 2006.
5. Malengo Island is located approximately 8 kilometres east of Ambungi Island.
What a fascinating account! Before commenting further, however, certain specifics need to be clarified. Although in her book Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Life (2003), Hazel Richardson allegedly referred to Lufengosaurus as a theropod dinosaur (I haven't seen her book, so I can't confirm this myself), opinions have changed. Lufengosaurus is nowadays classed as a sauropodomorph, i.e. belonging to a separate taxonomic group from theropods (although sauropodomorphs and theropods collectively constitute the higher taxonomic group Eusaurischia). Conversely, the earlier-mentioned Therizinosaurus is indeed a theropod, albeit a herbivorous one.
Not that such taxonomic details are significant in this particular instance, however; Lufengosaurus was selected by the cryptid's eyewitness, Robert Biket, merely because its outward appearance as portrayed in Richardson's book was more similar to the cryptid that he'd seen than were any of the other dinosaur depictions, nothing else.
In a previous ShukerNature article (click here to read it), I documented an array of reports and sightings appertaining to the artrellia or Papuan dragon, based upon what appear to be exceptionally large specimens of varanid (monitor lizard) living in New Guinea, much bigger than the currently confirmed 15-ft maximum length for this island's resident giant varanid species, Salvadori's monitor Varanus salvadorii. I think it likely that some supposed dinosaur sightings may in reality feature extra-large varanids, some species of which are even able to raise themselves up onto their hind legs and walk bipedally for a short time.
Having said that, the creature described by the eyewitnesses recorded above in Brian's report seems markedly different in form and also behaviour – especially its aquatic predilection – from Salvadori's monitor. Equally, bearing in mind that based upon current palaeontological evidence it would appear that dinosaurs were predominantly terrestrial, if one such lineage has somehow actually survived into the present day it is not impossible that during the 64 million years spanning the end of the Cretaceous (and officially the end of all non-avian dinosaurs) and the present day the lineage in question may have yielded aquatic species. Of course, this is all total speculation, but is very interesting nonetheless.
What is clearly needed here now is evidence of a much more tangible nature than has hitherto been obtained for this cryptid's existence. Eyewitness reports and drawings, however detailed they may be, are merely anecdotal. We need photos, footprint casts, and above all DNA samples, to confirm not only that such a creature exists but also its taxonomic identity.
My most sincere thanks once again to Brian Irwin for so kindly permitting me to reproduce his report here on ShukerNature.
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