Pensioner finds Loch Ness monster

Gerald McSorley found the fossil while walking along the shoreline, the Daily Telegraph reported.

"I literally tripped over the fossil in the water. When I put my hands down to steady myself I saw something unusual and picked it up," the retired scrap metal merchant said.

"Once I had cleaned off about an inch of green algae, and I could see the texture of the bone, it became clear I had an important fossil," he said.

McSorley had stumbled across four perfectly preserved vertebrae of a plesiosaur - the prehistoric creature most commonly associated with modern "Nessie" sightings. The long-necked, carnivorous sea reptile existed 150 million years ago.

More in link. (thanks, Brent)