Editing Loch Ness Monster (section)

===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>