Pterodactyl reported by American WWII vet .

Pterodactyl reported by American WWII vet
During World War II, an American soldier walked into a clearing near Finschhafen (New Guinea) with his buddy. Soon after entering the clearing, a wild pig (probably startled by the men) ran through the clearing and then a large “pterodactyl” took off into the air, probably startled by the pig. The veteran soldier, Duane Hodgkinson, now lives in Montana and has maintained, six decades later, that what they saw was a “pterodactyl.” Could that creature really have been a living pterodactyl? (The correct term is “pterosaur.”) Could those creatures be non-extinct?

 

Probably a fruit bat. Here in Mt. our bats are small enough to fit into the palm of your hand at full wing extension. Fruit bats would be absolutely outside of his ken.

 

ha! ha!...

 

Since he had likely never seen anything like a fruit bat, it isn't unlikely he thought a fruit bat could be something "prehistoric". He had likely actually seen "artist renditions" of the pterodactyl since Montana is "dinosaur heaven" for fossil finds.