SCOTLAND'S infamous Loch Ness monster may be a giant eel, scientists have claimed.
A top scientist says it's the "only plausible theory" to explain mysterious sightings of the creature.
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But geneticist Neil Gemmell confirmed there is "no definitive evidence of a monster" – and said there's no proof a giant reptile exists in the lake.
The Loch Ness monster is Britain's greatest unsolved mystery, with countless attempts to find the mythical beast falling flat.
In a fresh twist in the decades-long tale, a bonkers Kiwi scientist claims to have evidence suggesting Nessie really does exist.
He and an international team of scientists went searching for reptile DNA in the famous 226-metre deep lake in Scotland in 2018.
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Around 250 water samples were taken and analysed for signs of the reptilian beast.
Professor Gemmell, a DNA scientist at New Zealand's University of Otago, unveiled the results at a press conference on the shores of Loch Ness on Thursday morning.
"We found large amounts of eel DNA in the Loch Ness," he explained at a press conference.
"Every single site we went to had eels. The sheer volume was a bit of a surprise.
"Is it possible there’s a giant eel? Maybe. We don’t know if the DNA is gigantic or just many small eels.
"Is it possible there’s a giant eel? Maybe. We don’t know if the DNA is gigantic or just many small eels.
"They normally grow to 4 to 6 metres in length, and people say they’re observing something much larger than that.
"Is it a giant eel? I don’t know but it’s something we could plausibly test.
"There are eels, and there is a plausible way eels could grow bigger than normal.
"It’s plausible that there might be one or two that grow to extreme size – maybe 50% or more, maybe bigger than that.
"It’s plausible that there might be one or two that grow to extreme size – maybe 50% or more, maybe bigger than that.
"There may well be a monster in Loch Ness. We don’t know – we didn’t find it.
"So that’s the hunt. The hunt is done."
"So that’s the hunt. The hunt is done."
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Despite numerous "sightings" over the years, there's still no proof Nessie is real.
And Professor Gemmell's study confirmed that there was no evidence of a giant reptile in Loch Ness.
"Is there a plesiosaur in Loch Ness? No. There is absolutely no evidence of reptilian sequences in our samples," he explained.
"We can be fairly sure there is not a giant scaly reptile swimming in Loch Ness.
"But we have no evidence for a plesiosaur or any other reptilian creature."
"But we have no evidence for a plesiosaur or any other reptilian creature."
Nessie was first "spotted" back in 565 – a biography of Irish monk Saint Columba mentions a giant "water beast" dragging a man to his death in Scotland's River Ness.
However, wider interest in the monster was not sparked until 1933 after a road was built along the loch, making it far less isolated.
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Fact or Fiction? Famous ‘sightings’ of Nessie
The Loch Ness monster – known affectionately as Nessie – is often described as being a large animal with a long neck and usually with a hump popping out of the water.
Although the first sighting is said to have occurred in 565AD it was only in 1933 that widespread public opinion was sparked.
While scientists dismiss claims that there is some sort of prehistoric monster swimming about in the Scottish Highlands others are convinced of its existence.
Either way the story of Nessie is now firmly part of Scottish folklore.
Saint Columba
The first reported sighting of a monster is said to have been by the Irish monk St Columba in 565AD. Columba sent a man across the River Ness after stories of a “water beast” had circulated. It’s said that while the man was swimming he was approached by a beast but Columba made the sign of the cross and told the animal to “go no further”.
George Spicer
Modern day interest in the beast was largely sparked by a sighting in July 1933 by George Spicer and his wife when they claimed "a most extraordinary form of animal" crossed the road in front of their car.
Surgeon’s photograph
Perhaps the best-known picture of Nessie is the ‘Surgeon’s photograph’ which was published in April 1934, supposedly showing the animals head and long neck. According to the photographer Robert Kenneth Wilson, he managed to capture the image while he was looking at the lake. The image though was exposed as a huge hoax in the 1999 book, Nessie – the Surgeon’s Photograph Exposed.
Holmes video
Lab technician Gordon Holmes claimed he had managed to film the monster in 2007 which he described as "this jet black thing, about 14 metres (46 ft) long, moving fairly fast in the water." Both BBC Scotland and STV aired the footage at the time which marine biologist Adrian Shine described as among “the best footage [he had] ever seen.”
Within months, several people came forward claiming to have seen a giant beast lurking near the water.
The following year saw the publication of the "surgeon’s photograph", probably the best-known image of the creature.
In 1975 the famous shot was exposed as a hoax, made using a toy submarine with a carved monster’s head.
The vast majority of scientists agree that there's no giant marine monster living in the lake.
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Sightings have often been dismissed as being large eels and catfish or otters and deer swimming in the water, viewed from a distance.
In 2013, TV presenter Jeremy Wade made a special edition of River Monsters devoted to the legend.
He compared Nessie's characteristics with the Greenland shark, which grow to 20 feet in length and survive in the fresh waters of the loch.
It has also been claimed that sightings of Nessie are caused by misidentifying inanimate objects – tree trunks, logs and optical effects caused by wind conditions have all been suggested.
For Professor Gemmell's study, a deep scan surveyed the Loch at its deepest points – including depths of 50, 100 and 200 metres.
"We sampled at 200 metres, 100 metres and 50 metres from the surface," he told reporters.
"In total we collected about 250 water samples throughout the process.
"We obtained 500million or so DNA sequences. Each one of those identified an individual organism.
The team discovered 3,000 species in Loch Ness, most of which are tiny.
This included evidence of trout, minnows, toads and "a host of other things".
There's still hope for Nessie fans, however.
A Loch Ness monster could potentially have lived in the lake at one point, because the study only uncovered creatures resident there at the time.
"We would detect species that were just present within a week of the study," the professor said.
The study has not been published in a scientific journal, but will be soon, the professor claims.
In other news, the remains of an ancient 176lb monster penguin the size of a human were found last week in New Zealand.
A creepy "zombie snail" with green and orange flashing horns was recently caught on camera.
Scientists also recently discovered why two shark species glow in the dark.
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