Changes

[[Plesiosaur]] is actually a broad term for extinct marine [[reptile]] with long necks and flippers, but no one knows what type of plesiosaur the Loch Ness monster might be. The elasmosaur, one of the largest of the plesiosaurs, is the considered to be the best candidate of those animals. There are others that also fit the description.  

[[Plesiosaur]] is actually a broad term for extinct marine [[reptile]] with long necks and flippers, but no one knows what type of plesiosaur the Loch Ness monster might be. The elasmosaur, one of the largest of the plesiosaurs, is the considered to be the best candidate of those animals. There are others that also fit the description.  

The infamous photographs taken by Robert H. Rines fit the plesiosaur theory, but with their confirmation as hoaxes they cannot be used as evidence. Plesiosaurs are generally believed to have died off approximately 70 million years ago, and while the survival of ''Coelocanth'' gives hope to cryptozoologists, the difficulties of a large, air-breathing reptile never being decisively spotted seem to speak against the possibility of a surviving plesiosaur. In addition, especially for as large a creature as a plesiosaur, the relative dearth of fish in Loch Ness would speak against the capability for supporting an isolated population of large animals.

The infamous photographs taken by Robert H. Rines fit the plesiosaur theory, but with their confirmation as hoaxes they cannot be used as evidence. Plesiosaurs are believed to have died off approximately 70 million years ago according to evolution theory, and while the survival of ''Coelocanth'' gives hope to cryptozoologists, the difficulties of a large, air-breathing reptile never being decisively spotted seem to speak against the possibility of a surviving plesiosaur. In addition, especially for as large a creature as a plesiosaur, the relative dearth of fish in Loch Ness would speak against the capability for supporting an isolated population of large animals.

Besides the hoax photograph, the plesiosaur theory has other problems.  Loch Ness was created by glaciation, and the plesiosaur fossil evidence suggests that they lived in warm shallow seas.  If Nessie was a plesiosaur, it would mean that, if evolution is true, a breeding population of cold-blooded reptiles survived for millions of years past the last evidence of their existence, swam in to the retreating cold glacial waters surrounding Scotland, and became trapped in the loch.<ref>http://www.loch-ness.org/candidates.html</ref>

Besides the hoax photograph, the plesiosaur theory has other problems.  Loch Ness was created by glaciation, and the plesiosaur fossil evidence suggests that they lived in warm shallow seas.  If Nessie was a plesiosaur, it would mean that, if evolution is true, a breeding population of cold-blooded reptiles survived for millions of years past the last evidence of their existence, swam in to the retreating cold glacial waters surrounding Scotland, and became trapped in the loch.<ref>http://www.loch-ness.org/candidates.html</ref>

===The Eel===

===The Eel===