The belief that there are still dinosaurs roaming the earth today. Dinosaurs became extinct by some catastrophic event or major change in the environment 65 million years ago. There are, of course, many saurians still extant that have existed more or less in their present form since before the dinosaur extinction: crocodiles, alligators, lizards. They are not what is meant by contemporary dinosaurs, generally held to be in various inaccessible places that allow them to evade detection. The belief may well have been reinforced by the discovery in 1938 of a living Coela-Canth in the Indian Ocean; zoologists thought this fish had been extinct for 60 million years.
The most widely publicized and most believed of these creatures is the loch ness monster. The first recorded sighting of this creature, possibly a living plesiosaur, was by St. Columba in 565 C.E., and thereafter there were few sightings. Reports increased in the 20th century. “Nessie” has since become an international celebrity, photographed and reported in newspapers and on radio and television stations across the world. Eminent scientists have lent their support to Nessie’s “incontrovertible” existence; well-financed and equipped expeditions have pursued it. Hoaxers have admitted to their pranks, but the search continues. The most recent photo¬ graph was printed in the Nottingham Evening Post in September 1995.