Massimo Polidoro

When people argue that pterodactyls or their relatives still exist in the modern world, they sometimes point to the evidence provided by a famous photograph purporting to show a pterodactyl—like bird killed by Arizona cowboys around 1890. The photo supposedly appeared in a magazine in the 1950s, and a few parapsychologists claim that they remember seeing it. However, several researchers in recent times have scoured all kinds of archives and have been unable to find the photo. Although that photo, if it ever existed, appears to be permanently lost, a similar photo can be found on the Internet today. It purports to show Civil War soldiers with a dead pterodactyl. Many Internet users believe it is proof that pterodactyls did-and still might- coexist with humans. Since most scientists believe pterodactyls are long extinct, proof...