British scientists have claimed that the existence of the Loch Ness Monster, affectionately known as Nessie, is “plausible.” Researchers said that they have fossils of small plesiosaurs, long-necked marine reptiles that belong to the order Plesiosauria – from the age of dinosaurs.
The researchers stated that the fossils include bones and teeth from three-metre-long adults. A 1.5-metre-long arm bone is also found.
Experts have claimed that these animals appeared in the Late Triassic period. They said to became especially prevalent during the Jurassic period.
If we talk about the Loch Ness monster, it is part of Scottish folklore. It is said that they inhabit Loch in the Scottish Highlands. Some people believe in Loch Ness its existence, but many it is a hoax.
Loch Ness monster is often described as large, long-necked and with one or more humps protruding from the water – quite similar to plesiosaurs. Loch Ness was brought to worldwide attention in 1933.
Now, the suggestion Loch Ness might have existed came after the fossils were found in a 100-million-year-old river system that is now Morocco’s Sahara Desert. It suggests that they may have lived in freshwater.
The findings, published in the journal Cretaceous Research, suggest the plesiosaurs were possibly adapted to tolerate freshwater.
David Martill, the co-author of the paper, said: “What amazes me is that the ancient Moroccan river contained so many carnivores all living alongside each other. This was no place to go for a swim.”
Dr Longrich, the corresponding author on the paper, said: “We don’t really know why the plesiosaurs are in freshwater. It’s a bit controversial, but who’s to say that because we palaeontologists have always called them ‘marine reptiles’, they had to live in the sea? Lots of marine lineages invaded freshwater.”
The University of Bath released a press release, which said that the new discovery showed that the Loch Ness Monster was “on one level, plausible”.
It read: “Plesiosaurs weren’t confined to the seas, they did inhabit freshwater. But the fossil record also suggests that after almost a hundred and fifty million years, the last plesiosaurs finally died out at the same time as the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago.”
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