Fossils of plesiosaurs, sea lizards from the age of the long-necked dinosaurs, were found in a 100 million-year-old river system located in what is now the Sahara Desert in Morocco.
It was previously thought that plesiosaurs lived only in marine waters, but it turns out that at least one of their species was freshwater
Dr Nick Longrich, who has worked with a team of scientists at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom to study the remains of a Saharan plesiosaur, has said that plesiosaur could theoretically live in Loch Ness in Scotland.
"It fits the biology of plesiosaurs. That's right, fossils tell us that an asteroid killed the last plesiosaurs about 66 million years ago, so that might not be a valid version," Longrich said.
According to studies of fossil discovery layers, the creatures live in a freshwater reservoir with frogs, crocodiles, turtles, fish, and even a giant semi-aquatic spinosaur lizard, up to 16 meters long.
The famous monster Nessie from Loch Ness in Scotland may have been an aquatic lizard that has survived to this day, the most popular hypothesis about this biological property.
The version is supported by the fact that many eyewitness accounts of Nessie's appearance indicate that the neck was long, the limbs were finned, the head of a small "snake" and a thick long tail - a typical long-necked plesiosaurs, such as elassaurus.
This theory is also the most criticized, as it is hard to believe that a sufficiently large group of plesiosaurs could survive in lakes, and that even lakes as large and deep as Loch Ness would not often fall into people's eyes.
Yes, many people have seen Nessie, but there are hardly 10-15 such witnesses in a year, and most of the time they are tourists, not local residents.
However, there is an assumption that explains both the existence of an ancient plesiosaur in Loch Ness and why they are so elusive. Theory suggests that the lake is located in an anomalous area where temporary "portals" often appear. When people see Nessie, they see more of an ancient projection than something real.
The Loch Ness region is indeed an anomalous area, which is what many British paranormal researchers have said. They note that UFOs are often observed over Loch Ness in the form of classical disks or bright glowing lights.
In addition, the famous British mystic Aleister Crowley of the early twentieth century chose the shores of Loch Ness for a reason. He really liked the local atmosphere. Boleskin House has been his home for more than 30 years.