Washed Plesiosour image confirmed fake.

Someone sent us the photo at left of a plesiosaur washed up on a beach, and asked if we thought it was a fake.

Yes, we said. We do believe it is a fake. The first thing we noticed was that the lines along the back of the creature (leading down to its tail) are too sharp for a genuine photo. It's the digital equivalent of cutting out a picture of a Martian and pasting it on a photo beside George Bush. The cut-out will have sharp edges.

Likewise, when this photo was manipulated, the faker did not bother to blur the edges.

There is also a ghostly patch at the top end of the shadow of the person waling along the beach, as though someone or something has been erased.

But we asked the person who sent it to us for more information. Where did you get the photo? Where was it supposedly taken? Who is the photographer? When was the photo allegedly taken? Did any news media give it coverage? Who is the person walking along the beach?

We did not receive this information.

Since that time, a number of people have written to us about this photo. We thank the people who told us it was a megamouth shark. And that our conclusion was correct that the first photo we received had been faked.

Several people sent us the photo at right, which seems to be closer to the original genuine source.

It appeared on the web at

www.sharkmans-world.com/mega.html and was identified as a megamouth shark from South Africa, 20th April 2002. (Although it now seems to have been replaced on that site with other photos.)

There is even a video clip about it on the Discovery website at www.exn.ca/sharks/video.asp

You will notice several important differences between the original and the fake — particularly the give-away “megamouth” that has been shaved in the fake to make it look more like a plesiosaur.

Thanks to Mike@Baby Jack of N. Jersey for the info