Editing Loch Ness Monster (section)

==Explanations==
A number of explanations have been suggested to account for sightings of the creature. According to Ronald Binns, a former member of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau, there is probably no single explanation of the monster. Binns wrote two skeptical books, the 1983 ''The Loch Ness Mystery Solved'', and his 2017 ''The Loch Ness Mystery Reloaded''. In these he contends that an aspect of human psychology is the ability of the eye to see what it wants, and expects, to see.<ref name="Binns" /> They may be categorised as misidentifications of known animals, misidentifications of inanimate objects or effects, reinterpretations of Scottish folklore, [[hoax]]es, and exotic species of large animals. A reviewer wrote that Binns had "evolved into the author of ... the definitive, skeptical book on the subject". Binns does not call the sightings a hoax, but "a myth in the true sense of the term" and states that the "'monster is a sociological ... phenomenon. ...After 1983 the search ... (for the) possibility that there just ''might'' be continues to enthrall a small number for whom eye-witness evidence outweighs all other considerations".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nickell |first=Joe |author-link=Joe Nickell |date=2017 |title=Loch Ness Solved – Even More Fully! |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |publisher=Committee for Skeptical Inquiry |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=59, 61}}</ref>

===Misidentification of known animals===

====Eels====
A large [[European eel]] was an early suggestion for what the "monster" was. Eels are found in Loch Ness, and an unusually large one would explain many sightings.<ref>European Eels may reach an estimated maximal length of 1–1.3 meters. R. P. Mackal (1976) The Monsters of Loch Ness page 216, see also chapter 9 and appendix G</ref> Dinsdale dismissed the hypothesis because eels undulate side to side like snakes.<ref>Tim Dinsdale (1961) ''Loch Ness Monster'' p. 229</ref> Sightings in 1856 of a "sea-serpent" (or [[kelpie]]) in a freshwater lake near [[Leurbost]] in the [[Outer Hebrides]] were explained as those of an oversized eel, also believed common in "Highland lakes".<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 June 1856 |title=Varieties |page=3 |work=[[Colonial Times]] |publisher=National Library of Australia |location=Hobart, Tas. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article8784575 |url-status=live |access-date=16 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028121125/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8784575 |archive-date=28 October 2021}}</ref>

From 2018 to 2019, scientists from New Zealand undertook a massive project to document every organism in Loch Ness based on DNA samples. Their reports confirmed that European eels are still found in the Loch. No DNA samples were found for large animals such as catfish, Greenland sharks, or [[Plesiosaurus|plesiosaurs]]. Many scientists now believe that giant eels account for many, if not most of the sightings.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2019 |title=Loch Ness Monster may be a giant eel, say scientists |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49495145 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906050356/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-49495145 |archive-date=6 September 2019 |access-date=September 9, 2019 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=6 September 2019 |title=New DNA evidence may prove what the Loch Ness Monster really is |url=https://www.popsci.com/loch-ness-monster-dna-mystery/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911064735/https://www.popsci.com/loch-ness-monster-dna-mystery/ |archive-date=11 September 2019 |access-date=10 September 2019 |website=www.popsci.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Tom Metcalfe |date=9 September 2019 |title=Loch Ness Contains No 'Monster' DNA, Say Scientists |url=https://www.livescience.com/loch-ness-monster-dna-study.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910032328/https://www.livescience.com/loch-ness-monster-dna-study.html |archive-date=10 September 2019 |access-date=10 September 2019 |website=livescience.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Knowles |title=The Loch Ness Monster is still a mystery. |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://beta.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/09/06/loch-ness-monster-is-still-mystery-scientists-have-some-new-evidence-theory/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922070759/https://beta.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/09/06/loch%2Dness%2Dmonster%2Dis%2Dstill%2Dmystery%2Dscientists%2Dhave%2Dsome%2Dnew%2Devidence%2Dtheory/ |archive-date=2019-09-22}}</ref>

====Elephant====
In a 1979 article, California biologist Dennis Power and geographer Donald Johnson claimed that the "surgeon's photograph" was the top of the head, extended trunk and flared nostrils of a swimming elephant photographed elsewhere and claimed to be from Loch Ness.<ref name="Fresh">"A Fresh Look at Nessie", ''New Scientist'', v. 83, pp. 358–359</ref> In 2006, palaeontologist and artist Neil Clark suggested that travelling circuses might have allowed elephants to bathe in the loch; the trunk could be the perceived head and neck, with the head and back the perceived humps. In support of this, Clark provided an example painting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Geographic News |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0309_0603009_loch_ness.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720053414/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0309_0603009_loch_ness.html |archive-date=20 July 2009 |access-date=28 May 2009 |work=National Geographic}}</ref>

====Greenland shark====
Zoologist, angler and television presenter [[Jeremy Wade]] investigated the creature in 2013 as part of the series ''[[River Monsters]]'', and concluded that it is a [[Greenland shark]]. The Greenland shark, which can reach up to 20 feet in length, inhabits the North Atlantic Ocean around [[Canada]], [[Greenland]], [[Iceland]], [[Norway]], and possibly [[Scotland]]. It is dark in colour, with a small dorsal fin.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 May 2013 |title='River Monsters' Finale: Hunt For Loch Ness Monster And Greenland Shark (Video) |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/river-monsters-finale-hun_n_3346187.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143357/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/28/river-monsters-finale-hun_n_3346187.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 |access-date=28 December 2014 |website=The Huffington Post}}</ref> According to biologist Bruce Wright, the Greenland shark could survive in fresh water (possibly using rivers and lakes to find food) and Loch Ness has an abundance of salmon and other fish.<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 May 2012 |title=Scientist wonders if Nessie-like monster in Alaska lake is a sleeper shark |url=http://www.adn.com/article/scientist-wonders-if-nessie-monster-alaska-lake-sleeper-shark |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123060711/http://www.adn.com/article/scientist-wonders-if-nessie-monster-alaska-lake-sleeper-shark |archive-date=23 January 2015 |access-date=5 March 2015 |website=Alaska Dispatch News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2012 |title='Alaska lake monster' may be a sleeper shark, biologist says |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/alaska-lake-monster-may-sleeper-shark-biologist-says-233211614.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305050132/http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/alaska-lake-monster-may-sleeper-shark-biologist-says-233211614.html |archive-date=5 March 2016 |access-date=14 January 2017 |website=Yahoo! News}}</ref>

====Wels catfish====
In July 2015 three news outlets reported that Steve Feltham, after a vigil at the loch that was recognized by the [[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of Records]], theorised that the monster is an unusually large specimen of [[Wels catfish]] (''Silurus glanis''), which may have been released during the late 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loch Ness Monster 'Most Likely Large Catfish' |url=http://news.sky.com/story/1520208/loch-ness-monster-most-likely-large-catfish |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717104605/http://news.sky.com/story/1520208/loch-ness-monster-most-likely-large-catfish |archive-date=17 July 2015 |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=Sky News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nessie hunter believes Loch Ness monster is 'giant catfish' |url=http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/nessie-hunter-believes-loch-ness-monster-is-giant-catfish-1-3832402 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718212514/http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/heritage/nessie-hunter-believes-loch-ness-monster-is-giant-catfish-1-3832402 |archive-date=18 July 2015 |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=scotsman.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 July 2015 |title=Loch Ness Monster is just a 'giant catfish' – says Nessie expert |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/loch-ness-monster-just-giant-catfish-says-nessie-expert-1511239 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150718030807/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/loch-ness-monster-just-giant-catfish-says-nessie-expert-1511239 |archive-date=18 July 2015 |access-date=17 July 2015 |website=International Business Times UK}}</ref>

====Other resident animals====
It is difficult to judge the size of an object in water through a telescope or binoculars with no external reference. Loch Ness has resident [[Eurasian otter|otters]], and photos of them and deer swimming in the loch, which were cited by author Ronald Binns,<ref>R. Binns (1983) ''The Loch Ness Mystery Solved'' plates 15(a)–(f)</ref> may have been misinterpreted. According to Binns, birds may be mistaken for a "head and neck" sighting.<ref>R. Binns (1983) ''The Loch Ness Mystery Solved'' plates 16–18</ref>

===Misidentifications of inanimate objects or effects===

====Boat wakes====
Wakes have been reported when the loch is calm, with no boats nearby. Bartender David Munro reported a wake he believed was a creature zigzagging, diving, and reappearing; there were reportedly 26 other witnesses from a nearby car park.<ref name="Loch" />{{Better source needed|reason=Source unknown.|date=April 2016}} Although some sightings describe a V-shaped wake similar to a boat's,<ref name="AAS" /> others report something not conforming to the shape of a boat.<ref name="Discovery" />

====Trees====
In 1933, the ''[[Daily Mirror]]'' published a picture with the caption: "This queerly-shaped tree-trunk, washed ashore at [[Foyers, Highland|Foyers]] [on Loch Ness] may, it is thought, be responsible for the reported appearance of a 'Monster{{'"}}.<ref>''Daily Mirror'' 17 August 1933 p. 12</ref> 

In a 1982 series of articles for ''[[New Scientist]]'', [[Maurice Burton]] proposed that sightings of Nessie and similar creatures may be fermenting [[Scots pine]] logs rising to the surface of the loch. A decomposing log could not initially release gases caused by decay because of its high [[resin]] level. Gas pressure would eventually rupture a resin seal at one end of the log, propelling it through the water (sometimes to the surface). According to Burton, the shape of tree logs (with their branch stumps) closely resembles descriptions of the monster.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burton |first=Maurice |year=1982 |title=The Loch Ness Saga |journal=New Scientist |volume=06-24 |page=872}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burton |first=Maurice |year=1982 |title=The Loch Ness Saga |journal=New Scientist |volume=07-01 |pages=41–42}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Burton |first=Maurice |year=1982 |title=The Loch Ness Saga |journal=New Scientist |volume=07-08 |pages=112–113}}</ref>

====Seiches and wakes====
Loch Ness, because of its long, straight shape, is subject to unusual ripples affecting its surface. A [[seiche]] is a large oscillation of a lake, caused by water reverting to its natural level after being blown to one end of the lake (resulting in a [[standing wave]]); the Loch Ness oscillation period is 31.5&nbsp;minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Movement of Water in Lakes: Long standing waves (Seiches) |url=http://www.biology.qmul.ac.uk/research/staff/s-araya/currents.htm#Internal%20progressive%20waves |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531050301/http://www.biology.qmul.ac.uk/research/staff/s-araya/currents.htm#Internal%20progressive%20waves |archive-date=31 May 2009 |access-date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Biology.qmul.ac.uk}}</ref> Earthquakes in Scotland are too weak to cause observable seiches, but extremely massive earthquakes far away could cause large waves. The seiche created in Loch Ness by the catastrophic [[1755 Lisbon earthquake]] was reportedly "so violent as to threaten destruction to some houses built on the sides of it", while the [[1761 Lisbon earthquake|1761 aftershock]] caused two-foot (60&nbsp;cm) waves. However, no sightings of the monster were reported in 1755.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Muir-Wood |first1=Robert |title=The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake: Revisited |last2=Mignan |first2=Arnaud |date=2009 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4020-8608-3 |editor-last=Mendes-Victor |editor-first=Luiz A. |pages=130, 138 |chapter=A Phenomenological Reconstruction of the Mw9 November 1st 1755 Earthquake Source |editor-last2=Sousa Oliveira |editor-first2=Carlos |editor-last3=Azevedo |editor-first3=João |editor-last4=Ribeiro |editor-first4=António}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bressan |first=David |date=30 June 2013 |title=The Earth-shattering Loch Ness Monster that wasn't |url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/the-earth-shattering-loch-ness-monster-that-wasnt/ |access-date=12 April 2022 |website=Scientific American Blog Network |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404132705/https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/history-of-geology/the-earth-shattering-loch-ness-monster-that-wasnt/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Optical effects====
Wind conditions can give a choppy, [[Diffuse reflection|matt]] appearance to the water with calm patches appearing dark from the shore (reflecting the mountains and clouds).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Oliver |date=2023 |title=Nessie and Noctilucent Clouds: A Meteorological Explanation for Some Loch Ness Monster Sightings |url=https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/coolabah/article/view/43171 |journal=Coolabah |issue=34 |pages=25–45 |doi=10.1344/co20233425-45 |access-date=7 July 2023 |archive-date=6 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230706161005/https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/coolabah/article/view/43171 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 1979, W. H. Lehn showed that atmospheric [[refraction]] could distort the shape and size of objects and animals,<ref>W. H. Lehn (1979) ''Science'' vol 205. No. 4402 pages&nbsp;183–185 "Atmospheric Refraction and Lake Monsters"</ref> and later published a photograph of a [[mirage]] of a rock on [[Lake Winnipeg]] that resembled a head and neck.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lehn, W. H. |last2=Schroeder |first2=I. |year=1981 |title=The Norse merman as an optical phenomenon |journal=Nature |volume=289 |issue=5796 |page=362 |bibcode=1981Natur.289..362L |doi=10.1038/289362a0 |s2cid=4280555}}</ref>

====Seismic gas====
Italian geologist Luigi Piccardi has proposed geological explanations for ancient legends and myths. Piccardi noted that in the earliest recorded sighting of a creature (the ''[[Vita Columbae|Life of Saint Columba]]''), the creature's emergence was accompanied "''cum ingenti fremitu''" ("with loud roaring"). The Loch Ness is along the [[Great Glen Fault]], and this could be a description of an earthquake. Many reports consist only of a large disturbance on the surface of the water; this could be a release of gas through the fault, although it may be mistaken for something swimming below the surface.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Seismotectonic Origins of the Monster of Loch Ness |url=http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2001ESP/finalprogram/abstract_7279.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515091035/http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2001ESP/finalprogram/abstract_7279.htm |archive-date=15 May 2010 |access-date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Gsa.confex.com}}</ref>

===Folklore===
In 1980 Swedish [[natural history|naturalist]] and author Bengt Sjögren wrote that present beliefs in [[lake monster]]s such as the Loch Ness Monster are associated with [[kelpie]] legends. According to Sjögren, accounts of loch monsters have changed over time; originally describing horse-like creatures, they were intended to keep children away from the loch. Sjögren wrote that the kelpie legends have developed into descriptions reflecting a modern awareness of [[plesiosaur]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sjögren |first=Bengt |title=Berömda vidunder |publisher=Settern |year=1980 |isbn=91-7586-023-6 |language=sv}}</ref>

The kelpie as a [[water horse]] in Loch Ness was mentioned in an 1879 Scottish newspaper,<ref>''Aberdeen Weekly Journal'', Wednesday, 11 June 1879 "This kelpie had been in the habit of appearing as a beautiful black horse... No sooner had the weary unsuspecting victim seated himself in the saddle than away darted the horse with more than the speed of the hurricane and plunged into the deepest part of Loch Ness, and the rider was never seen again."</ref> and inspired [[Tim Dinsdale]]'s ''Project Water Horse''.<ref>Tim Dinsdale (1975) ''Project Water Horse. The true story of the monster quest at Loch Ness'' (Routledge & Kegan Paul) {{ISBN|0-7100-8030-1}}</ref> A study of pre-1933 Highland folklore references to kelpies, water horses and [[water bull]]s indicated that Ness was the loch most frequently cited.<ref>Watson, Roland,''The Water Horses of Loch Ness'' (2011) {{ISBN|1-4611-7819-3}}</ref>

===Hoaxes===
A number of hoax attempts have been made, some of which were successful. Other hoaxes were revealed rather quickly by the perpetrators or exposed after diligent research. A few examples follow.

In August 1933, Italian journalist Francesco Gasparini submitted what he said was the first news article on the Loch Ness Monster. In 1959, he reported sighting a "strange fish" and fabricated eyewitness accounts: "I had the inspiration to get hold of the item about the strange fish. The idea of the monster had never dawned on me, but then I noted that the strange fish would not yield a long article, and I decided to promote the imaginary being to the rank of monster without further ado."<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 January 2009 |title=Invention of Loch Ness monster |newspaper=The Irish Times |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0126/1232474680305.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111227115951/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0126/1232474680305.html |archive-date=27 December 2011}} [http://monstersandmyths.com/italian-journalist-claims-he-invented-nessie/ Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113092838/http://monstersandmyths.com/italian-journalist-claims-he-invented-nessie/ |date=13 November 2013 }}</ref>

In the 1930s, big-game hunter [[M. A. Wetherell|Marmaduke Wetherell]] went to Loch Ness to look for the monster. Wetherell claimed to have found footprints, but when casts of the footprints were sent to scientists for analysis they turned out to be from a [[hippopotamus]]; a prankster had used a hippopotamus-foot umbrella stand.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Birth of a legend: Famous Photo Falsified? |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604144704/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend.html |archive-date=4 June 2011 |access-date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Pbs.org}}</ref>

In 1972, a team of zoologists from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo, searching for the monster, discovered a large body floating in the water. The corpse, {{convert|4.9|-|5.4|m|abbr=on}} long and weighing as much as 1.5 tonnes, was described by the [[Press Association]] as having "a bear's head and a brown scaly body with clawlike fins." The creature was placed in a van to be carried away for testing, but police seized the cadaver under an act of parliament prohibiting the removal of "unidentified creatures" from Loch Ness. It was later revealed that Flamingo Park education officer John Shields shaved the whiskers and otherwise disfigured a bull [[elephant seal]] that had died the week before and dumped it in Loch Ness to dupe his colleagues.<ref name="NYT">{{Cite news |date=2 April 1972 |title=Loch Ness 'Monster' Is an April Fool's Joke |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/02/archives/loch-ness-monster-is-an-april-fools-joke.html |url-status=live |access-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624214049/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/04/02/archives/loch-ness-monster-is-an-april-fools-joke.html |archive-date=24 June 2021}}</ref>

On 2 July 2003, Gerald McSorely discovered a fossil, supposedly from the creature, when he tripped and fell into the loch. After examination, it was clear that the fossil had been planted.<ref name="museum">{{Cite web |title=Loch Ness Monster Hoaxes |url=http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/display/category/loch_ness_monster/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421041436/http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/display/category/loch_ness_monster/ |archive-date=21 April 2010 |access-date=28 April 2010 |publisher=Museumofhoaxes.com}}</ref>

[[File:Cryptoclidus.JPG|thumb|left|alt=Long-necked dinosaur model|''[[Cryptoclidus]]'' model used in the Five TV programme, ''Loch Ness Monster: The Ultimate Experiment'']]
In 2004, a [[Channel 5 (UK)|Five TV]] documentary team, using cinematic special-effects experts, tried to convince people that there was something in the loch. They constructed an [[animatronic]] model of a [[plesiosaur]], calling it "Lucy". Despite setbacks (including Lucy falling to the bottom of the loch), about 600 sightings were reported where she was placed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loch Ness monster: The Ultimate Experiment |url=http://www.crawley-creatures.com/recent/lucy.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503060547/http://www.crawley-creatures.com/recent/lucy.htm |archive-date=3 May 2008 |access-date=28 May 2009 |publisher=Crawley-creatures.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=16 August 2005 |title=Nessie swims in Loch for TV Show |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4156070.stm |url-status=live |access-date=12 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829114553/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4156070.stm |archive-date=29 August 2007}}</ref>

In 2005, two students claimed to have found a large tooth embedded in the body of a deer on the loch shore. They publicised the find, setting up a website, but expert analysis soon revealed that the "tooth" was the antler of a [[muntjac]]. The tooth was a publicity stunt to promote a horror novel by [[Steve Alten]], ''[[The Loch (novel)|The Loch]].''<ref name="museum" />

{{clear}}

==={{anchor|Exotic species of large animals}}Exotic large-animal species===
{{Undue weight section|date=July 2023|to=fringe sources and hypotheses|section=yes}}

====Plesiosaur====
[[File:Lochneska poboba museumofnessie.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Model of a dinosaur in water|Reconstruction of Nessie as a plesiosaur outside the Museum of Nessie]]
In 1933, it was suggested that the creature "bears a striking resemblance to the supposedly extinct [[Plesiosauria|plesiosaur]]",<ref>R. J. Binns (1983) ''The Loch Ness Mystery Solved'', p, 22</ref> a long-necked aquatic reptile that became [[extinction|extinct]] during the [[Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event]]. A popular explanation at the time, the following arguments have been made against it:
* In an October 2006 ''[[New Scientist]]'' article, "Why the Loch Ness Monster is no plesiosaur", Leslie Noè of the [[Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences|Sedgwick Museum]] in [[Cambridge]] said: "The [[osteology]] of the neck makes it absolutely certain that the plesiosaur could not lift its head up swan-like out of the water".<ref>{{Cite journal |year=2006 |title=Why the Loch Ness Monster is no plesiosaur |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225764.900-why-the-loch-ness-monster-is-no-plesiosaur.html |url-status=live |journal=New Scientist |volume=2576 |page=17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070223214947/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19225764.900-why-the-loch-ness-monster-is-no-plesiosaur.html |archive-date=23 February 2007 |access-date=8 April 2007}}</ref>
* The loch is only about 10,000&nbsp;years old, dating to the end of the last ice age. Before then, it was frozen for about 20,000&nbsp;years.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Legend of Nessie – Ultimate and Official Loch Ness Monster Site – About Loch Ness |url=http://www.nessie.co.uk/htm/about_loch_ness/nessgeo.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929200634/http://www.nessie.co.uk/htm/about_loch_ness/nessgeo.html |archive-date=29 September 2018 |access-date=31 October 2007 |website=www.nessie.co.uk}}</ref>
* If creatures similar to plesiosaurs lived in Loch Ness they would be seen frequently, since they would have to surface several times a day to breathe.<ref name="firstscience1" />
* Due to the lack of plankton, there is not enough food in Loch Ness to sustain a family of Plesiosaurs.

In response to these criticisms, [[Tim Dinsdale]], Peter Scott and Roy Mackal postulate a trapped marine creature that evolved from a plesiosaur directly or by [[convergent evolution]].<ref>Roy P. Mackal (1976) ''The Monsters of Loch Ness'', p. 138</ref> Robert Rines explained that the "horns" in some sightings function as breathing tubes (or nostrils), allowing it to breathe without breaking the surface. Newer discoveries of plesiosaurs such as [[Leptocleididae]] could handle fresh water, along with [[Morturneria]] which thrived in Antarctic waters. While this supports the idea that a Plesiosaur could handle the environment of Loch Ness, it doesn't support the idea that Nessie is one.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-01 |title=Freshwater plesiosaur fossils spark Loch Ness Monster questions |url=https://earthsky.org/earth/freshwater-plesiosaur-fossils-spark-loch-ness-monster-questions/ |access-date=2024-12-09 |website=earthsky.org |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Long-necked giant amphibian====
[[R. T. Gould]] suggested a long-necked [[newt]];<ref name=Gould/><ref>''The Times'' 9 December 1933, p. 14</ref> Roy Mackal examined the possibility, giving it the highest score (88 percent) on his list of possible candidates.<ref>R. P. Mackal (1976) ''The Monsters of Loch Ness'', pp. 138–139, 211–213</ref>

====Invertebrate====
In 1968 [[Fredrick William Holiday|F. W. Holiday]] proposed that Nessie and other lake monsters, such as [[Morag (lake monster)|Morag]], may be a large [[invertebrate]] such as a [[Polychaete|bristleworm]]; he cited the extinct ''[[Tullimonstrum]]'' as an example of the shape.<ref>Holiday, F.T. ''The Great Orm of Loch Ness'' (Faber and Faber 1968)</ref> According to Holiday, this explains the land sightings and the variable back shape; he likened it to the medieval description of [[dragon]]s as "worms". Although this theory was considered by Mackal, he found it less convincing than eels, amphibians or plesiosaurs.<ref>R. P. Mackal (1976) ''The Monsters of Loch Ness'' pp. 141–142, chapter XIV</ref>