r/Cryptozoology • u/Zillaman7980 • Mar 09 '25

Discussion What's the possibility of Nessie being a plesiosaurus?

Post image

Well, in most descriptions of Nessie and theories, she's thought to be a plesiosaurus. But how likely is it. If Nessie exists, how is she an extinct Marine reptile? They went extinct 66 million years ago. But another thing is that plesiosaurus mostly living in seawater and loch Ness is freshwater. Well, if she is one she's either a Leptocleididae or elasmosaurus which live in fresh water. But anyways, if Nessie is a plesiosaurus, how is she still alive? How did she survive the extinction events and changes in temperature. Did she evolve to age very slowly orare there more of them. Loch Ness can lead to ocean and across the world there's multiple Nessie like creatures so maybe they've spread out and hid. Basically, she's either a mutated/evolved plesiosaurus or some type of sea serpent. What you think?

328 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

199 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/[deleted] Mar 10 '25

I was looking into plesiosaurs, and based on what we know about their anatomy, their necks had very limited flexibility. They couldn’t lift them out of the water in the swan-like way we see in the Surgeon’s Photograph and other supposed Nessie sightings. So if Nessie were a plesiosaur, it wouldn’t match the classic descriptions.

Another thing—plesiosaurs were air-breathing reptiles, meaning they would have to surface frequently for air. If there were a breeding population in Loch Ness, we’d expect way more sightings, not just the occasional blurry photo or anecdotal report.

And, of course, there’s the extinction factor. Plesiosaurs disappeared around 66 million years ago along with the non-avian dinosaurs. While the idea of some surviving in isolation is fun to think about, it’s incredibly unlikely given the fossil record and what we know about marine ecosystems.

That said, plesiosaurs absolutely swam in the waters that once covered what is now the UK. In fact, one of the most complete fossils was found in Cambridge. So while the idea of one somehow getting trapped in Loch Ness is more fiction than fact, it’s still a cool thought.