Loch Ness Monster sightings could be getting one simple detail wrong as a new investigation into pre-historic fossils has shed light on the mystery
Nessie is often depicted looking like a plesiosaur with a long neck and a head emerging from the water - which was seen in the famous "surgeon's photograph" from 1934.
However, a recent study of a fossilised elasmosaurus - which is a type of plesiosaur - has revealed that these prehistoric creatures didn't hold their heads that way.
Instead, the elasmosaurus held its head below or level with its body, Dr Paul Scofield, a curator at Canterbury Museum in New Zealand has said.
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He said: "The labyrinth of the ear works best when the tiny bones within are able to hang unaffected by gravity.
"For this reason, the position of the inner ear within the skull of an animal reveals a lot about how an animal habitually holds its head.
"We have examined the inner ear of elasmosaurs and determined that their resting position was with the head horizontal to the body or even well below the body.
"This implies that they probably did not frequently hold their heads up high."
The theory that Nessie is a living elasmosaurus was promoted by Denys Tucker, once a prominent zoologist at London's Natural History Museum.
He was allegedly fired in 1960 over his beliefs and later died in France in 2009.
However, new research is shedding light on the difference between the popular image of Nessie and what a real elasmosaurus looks like.
Dr Scofield said: "The 'traditional' posture shown in many a popular article on Nessie - like a sock puppet - is not something elasmosaurs were in the habit of adopting.
"The idea of it lifting its head up like a sock puppet is extremely unlikely."
The scientist and his colleagues made their findings conducting a CT scan on the elasmosaurus remains and it is thought the prehistoric creature held its head down this way to feed from the seabed.
Dr Scofield said: "They have these enormous teeth arranged in rows like a grappling iron.
"It has been hypothesised that they floated on the surface and dredged the seafloor blowing the dirt out through their teeth and leaving just the clams.
"Thus their feeding method dictates the neck length - it's just like the giraffe but in reverse."
This theory may explain to believers why Nessie is rarely seen with its head above water.
However, Dr Scofield is sceptical that Nessie exists and says it's further proof that the monster is a myth.
He said: "I totally reject the idea that Nessie exists and that it is an elasmosaurus. Loch Ness monster records are a mixture of fakes and mistakes."
Dr Scofield and his colleagues published their study into the lasmosaurus in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
The 1934 "surgeon's photograph" is now widely believed to be a hoax that was created with a toy submarine and wood putty.
Dr Scofield also highlighted that the scientific name for Nessie proposed by conservationist Sir Peter Scott, Nessiteras rhombopteryx, is an anagram of "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S".
The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register contains six entries for 2021.
