From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; The most common speculation among believers is that the creature represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs. Much of the scientific community regards the Loch Ness Monster as a modern-day myth, and explains sightings as including misidentifications of more mundane objects, outright hoaxes, and wishful thinking. The creature has been affectionately referred to by the nickname Nessie[b] (Scottish Gaelic: Niseag) since the 1940s.