When it comes to the land of cryptozoology, few cryptids garner more attention than the Loch Ness Monster, a Scottish beast that purportedly stalks the waters of one of the countries fresh water lochs. Now, a new discovery suggests that such a beast — or dinosaur, rather — would actually be scientifically “plausible.”
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Though dinosaurs died out around 65 million years ago, a group of researchers at the United Kingdom’s University of Bath says a recent fossil discovery says dinosaurs like plesiosaurs weren’t able to only live in salt water bodies. No, the study says that the fossils were found in a Cretaceous-aged riverbed in Africa, suggesting the dinos could live in bodies of fresh water as well.
“It’s scrappy stuff, but isolated bones actually tell us a lot about ancient ecosystems and animals in them. They’re so much more common than skeletons, they give you more information to work with” Dr. Nick Longrich, corresponding author on the paper, said in a press release for the University.
“The bones and teeth were found scattered and in different localities, not as a skeleton. So each bone and each tooth is a different animal. We have over a dozen animals in this collection.”
That’s where the plausibility of the Loch Ness Monster comes into play. The researchers say the fossils confirm Loch Ness Monster-like dinosaurs were, in fact, able to live in freshwater. The only problem is — plesiosaurs also died out when the remainder of the prehistoric beasts did.
“We don’t really know, honestly. That’s how paleontology works,” added lead author Georgina Bunker. People ask, how can paleontologists know anything for certain about the lives of animals that went extinct millions of years ago? The reality is, we can’t always. All we can do is make educated guesses based on the information we have. We’ll find more fossils. Maybe they’ll confirm those guesses. Maybe not.”
Cover photo by Keystone/Getty Images
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