The legend of the Loch Ness Monster continues to fascinate both scientists and conspiracy theorists alike. Now a group of researchers are speculating that Nessie was actually a giant eel.
An international group of scientists has analyzed "environmental DNA" from the famed Scottish lake and found no evidence that Nessie exists.
However, they say the lake contains a great deal of eel DNA, leading to speculation that Nessie could be a giant eel, rather than the more common theory of a prehistoric reptile.
Geneticist Neil Gemmell of the University of Otago in New Zealand said, "There is absolutely no evidence of any reptilian sequences in our samples. I think we can be pretty sure that there is probably not a giant scaly reptile swimming around in Loch Ness." Gemmell's team did find a lot of eel DNA in the lake and when asked if Nessie could be a giant eel, Gemmell said "Maybe." .
In the end, lead researcher Neil Gemmell says "There may well be a monster in Loch Ness, but we didn't find it".