Famed British conservationist Sir Peter Scott, who gave the Loch Ness Monster the scientific name of
Nessiteras rhombopteryx
as part of an effort to protect it as an endangered species in case
it's real, originally tried in 1960 to get Queen Elizabeth to approve
the name
Elizabethia Nessiae.
From
The Scotsman:
Her Majesty was so interested in the eminent conservationist’s search she asked to be kept personally informed about it.
But Palace officials were dubious. They wanted proof Nessie existed, and
questioned if it was appropriate to name a “monster” after the Queen.
The extraordinary documents were uncovered in an archive at Cambridge University.
A letter from Martin Charteris, the Queen’s assistant private secretary
at the time, read: “If there is any suggestion of naming the animal
after the Queen, there must of course be irrefutable evidence of it’s
existence. It would be most regrettable to connect Her Majesty in any
way with something which ultimately turned out to be a hoax."
More on this matter at The Independent: "
The Queen and the Loch Ness monster: a murky tale of myth, nature and spin"
And regarding the name
Nessiteras Rhombopteryx, this from the
Museum of Hoaxes:
Sir Peter Scott of the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau
participated in the 1972 expedition that produced the flipper photo.
Feeling that the photo provided proof that some kind of large creature
existed in the loch, he decided to give the animal a scientific name: N
essiteras Rhombopteryx
(which meant "the Ness wonder with a diamond fin"). But London
newspapers soon pointed out that if you juggled around the letters in
this name, you got the phrase "monster hoax by Sir Peter S." Was this
evidence that the flipper photo had been a deliberate hoax? Scott denied
it. Dr. Rines came to his rescue by pointing out that if you juggled
the letters around a bit more, you could spell "Yes, both pix are
monsters. R."
Above, "The Surgeon's Photo," known to be a hoax.
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