Pessie - the Prehistoric Nessie
This is Gary Campbell, Registrar of Sightings at Loch Ness, with Pterichthyoides Milleri, better known as 'Pessie' - a distant ancestor of Nessie. Pessie was found close to Loch Ness by reknowned geologist Hugh Miller (hence the proper name) in the 19th Century and currently lives in Inverness Museum where she's on permanent display. It was only when museum curator Cait McCullagh and Inverness Science Festival organiser Dr Evelyn Gray were researching Nessie's history for the 2015 festival that Pessie came to light, having hidden in the museum's collection for over 100 years.
Cait McCullagh explained “If you think of the picture that most people have in their heads of the Loch Ness Monster, our fossil pretty much meets what they would expect. Pterichthyoides Milleri lived at the bottom of freshwater lochs and had flippers to help it move around. Interestingly, its head and back were covered in an armoured shell, showing that it was well protected from predator attacks – ready for anything!"
On whether it could be Nessie's ancestor, Dr Gray said "if we assume that this form of Nessie would evolve in a normal fashion, then we can project how biological changes over the millennia might make it similar to the larger Nessie we think of today"
"P.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S.S Pessie alipatikana karibu na Loch Ness na mtaalamu maarufu wa jiolojia Hugh Miller (kwa hiyo jina lake sahihi) katika karne ya 19 na kwa sasa anaishi katika Jumba la Makumbusho la Inverness ambapo yeye ni kwenye maonyesho ya kudumu. Wakati msimamizi wa makumbusho Cait McCullough na mratibu wa tamasha la sayansi la Inverness, Evelyn Gray, walipokuwa wakifanya utafiti wa historia ya Nessie kwa ajili ya tamasha la 2015, Pessie alikuja kuonekana, baada ya kujificha katika mkusanyiko wa makumbusho kwa zaidi ya miaka 100. "Mwanasayansi wa sayansi ya sayansi, Cait McCullough, alisema: ""Ikiwa unafikiria picha ambayo watu wengi wana katika vichwa vyao ya Loch Ness Monster, fossil yetu inakidhi kile wanachotarajia." Pterichthyoides Milleri aliishi chini ya maziwa ya maji baridi na alikuwa na mabawa ya kuendesha ndege. Jambo la kupendeza ni kwamba kichwa na mgongo wake vilikuwa vimefunikwa na ganda lenye silaha, jambo linalionyesha kwamba lililindwa vizuri dhidi ya mashambulizi ya wanyama wawindaji - likiwa tayari kwa jambo lolote!" "Kuhusu kama inaweza kuwa babu ya Nessie, Dk Gray alisema: ""Ikiwa tunadhani kwamba aina hii ya Nessie ingeendelea kwa njia ya kawaida, basi tunaweza kutabiri jinsi mabadiliko ya kibiolojia zaidi ya milenia inaweza kuifanya kuwa sawa na Nessie kubwa tunayofikiria leo."""