Believers argue about whether the creature is a surviving dinosaur species, a reptile, or a relative of animals like manatees and seals. Otherwise, a consistent composite has emerged. Of all known animals, Nessie most closely resembles plesiosaurs, aquatic dinosaurs that went extinct 65 million years ago. It is described as dark in color with a small head, a long neck, blimpish body, and a long tail. The creature is said to move quickly through the water, propelled by four flippers.
Some people claim to have seen a group of humps suggesting several creatures swimming together.
Scientists speculate that at least ten of the creatures would have to exist at once in order for the species to survive. The most famous image of Nessie, a 1934 photograph shot of its neck and head, is now known to be a hoax. Shortly before dying in 1993, Christian Spurling confessed that he and his stepfather had photographed a model attached to a toy submarine. In 1965 the joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre analyzed film shot from afar of a large object in motion on Loch Ness. They determined that it was probably an animate object.