A long-lost relative of Nessie may have been discovered in Scotland.
This monster lived 170 million years ago - not in Loch Ness, but a warm shallow sea around what is now the Isle of Skye.
It has been identified as a new species of ichthyosaur, a large dolphin-like marine reptile that grew up to 4.2 metres.
Scientists have studied fossil fragments of skulls, teeth, vertebrae and an upper arm bone unearthed from Skye in the past 50 years.
Several of the fossils came from ichthyosaurs, including one previously unknown species, named Dearcmhara shawcrossi.
Dearcmhara, pronounced "jarkvara", is Scottish gaelic for marine lizard.
The name shawcrossi was chosen in honour of amateur fossil hunter Brian Shawcross, who found the creature's remains on Skye's Bearreraig Bay in 1959.
Throughout the Jurassic Period, much of Skye was under water. It was joined to the rest of the UK and part of a large island positioned between landmasses that drifted apart to become Europe and North America.
Lead researcher Dr Steve Brusatte, from the University of Edinburgh's School of Geosciences, said: "During the time of dinosaurs, the waters of Scotland were prowled by big reptiles the size of motor boats.
"Their fossils are very rare, and only now, for the first time, we've found a new species that was uniquely Scottish."
A description of the creature appears in the Scottish Journal of Geology.
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