Ancient Plesiosaur Fossils Found in Sahara Reignite Loch Ness Monster Debate

Scientists from the University of Bath and the University of Portsmouth in the UK, and the University of Hassan II in Morocco, are at the heart of this discovery, which suggests that certain species of plesiosaurs, traditionally considered marine creatures, may have lived in freshwater, reports The Week. The fossils include bones and teeth of 3-meter-long adults and a 1.5-meter-long arm bone of a baby. According to the researchers, these creatures lived and fed regularly in freshwater, alongside frogs, crocodiles, turtles, fish and the huge aquatic dinosaur Spinosaurus. A discovery that leads them to conclude that the Loch Ness monster did indeed exist.

"We really don’t know why the plesiosaurs were in freshwater," says Dr. Nick Longrich, one of the authors of the discovery. Paleontologists often call them "marine reptiles," suggesting they only lived in the sea, but many marine lineages have ended up invading freshwater. Conclusions contradicted by skeptics. According to them, plesiosaurs could not have lived in Loch Ness, as they needed a saltwater environment, reports The Independent.