Loch Ness Monster’s existence ‘plausible’ after shock fossil find, scientists say

EXPERTS have claimed the Loch Ness Monster’s existence is ‘plausible’ after publishing shocking new fossil research.

Plesiosaurs, once thought to be sea creatures, may have lived in fresh water, scientists say.

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Believers of the mythical Nessie have long thought the creature was also a plesiosaur.

Plesiosaurs were a type of reptile that became extinct around 65.5 million years ago.

They had small heads and long necks, much like the infamous Loch Ness Monster.

So far, the idea that Nessie could be a plesiosaur has been dismissed as it would need salt water that it couldn’t get from fresh water from Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands.

But this latest discovery in an ancient river system in Morocco’s Sahara Desert makes it “plausible”.

Adult bones and teeth three meters long were among the fossils discovered.

Scientists also found an arm bone that belonged to a 1.5 meter long baby.

The remains suggest that the animal not only lived in fresh water but also foraged in the area, alongside other creatures like frogs, crocodiles, turtles, fish and the massive aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus.

“It’s scrappy stuff, but the isolated bones tell us a lot about ancient ecosystems and the animals that were there,” said Dr Nick Longrich, from the University of Bath.

“They’re so much more common than skeletons, they give you more information to work with.

“The bones and teeth were found scattered and in different localities, not in skeletal form.

“So every bone and every tooth is a different animal.

“We have over a dozen animals in this collection.”

He added: “We don’t really know why plesiosaurs are in fresh water.

“It’s a bit controversial, but who’s to say that because we paleontologists have always called them ‘marine reptiles,’ they had to live in the sea? Many marine lineages invaded fresh water.”

The research was published in the journal Cretaceous Research.

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