Is Nessie dead? Mysterious giant skeleton washes up on Scottish beach

While Storm Ciara battered the United Kingdom, a baffling photograph sparked an interesting discussion on Facebook. A northern Scottish media outlet shared the image of a decomposing corpse of a massive sea creature. The picture has a young boy standing near the head of the animal. Most of the animal's skeleton is exposed, revealing a tapering long tail and what seems to be two protruding horns. People continue to guess, and the jury is still out on what kind of animal it belonged to.

The long-dead animal was noticed washed up on the beach in Aberdeenshire on Sunday, February 9. It is suspected that the corpse washed up on the beach due to the storm. While people are advised to stay away from decomposing animal remains, a young boy is seen standing close to the intriguing skeleton.

Over 500 people commented on the original picture posted on Facebook. Most people seemed to believe that the skeleton belonged to some kind of whale or dolphin. However, imaginations ran wild in the comment section, where people suggested everything from a giant octopus to the Loch Ness monster.

Looking at the two bones in the front which look like horns, some believed that the corpse was that of a thresher shark. The sharks with beautiful elongated tails are frequently seen in the waters around the UK during summer.

Rubbishing the idea that the skeleton is that of a shark, a commenter pointed out that the caudal vertebrae of the animal indicated that it belonged to an orca or a dolphin. Another person added that the vertebrae looked like it was made for side to side movement, while a whale's spine allows it to move its body up and down.

One commenter claimed that the photo was not taken during the storm, but was in fact 11 years old. The media outlet did not offer any additional information about when the picture was taken.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Marine Biology professor David Lusseau from the University of Aberdeen said that from the picture, it was unclear what the animal was. He would need a better image to confirm the animal's identity.

As many struggled to determine the identity of the skeleton, an interesting theory claimed that it was the corpse of the infamous Loch Ness monster. A number of comments claimed that the mythical monster, fondly called "Nessie," ventured from its freshwater Loch and ended up dying in the sea.