The elusive and mysterious Loch Ness monster may have a distant relative, living across the Atlantic.

Dubbed Champ, there have been more than 600 sightings of the long, underwater sea creature in Vermont’s Lake Champlain since the 17th century - and now amateur zoologists claim to have found proof of its existence.

Using a hydrophone system, the monster hunters captured loud clicking sounds thought to have been made by the echolocation of a giant creature.

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The audio recording (pictured) was made by cryptozoologists Katy Elizabeth and Dennis Hall on Lake Champlain, Vermont. It was captured using a hydrophone system that monitors echolocation. Ms Elizabeth claims the clicking sounds made in the recording are evidence of an underwater creature called Champ

The audio recording was made by 'cryptozoologists' Katy Elizabeth and Dennis Hall in July, near a region of the lake known as Scotch Bonnet.

Ms Elizabeth captured a second recording in October, but the two sound so different she is convinced the first was made by the creature known as Champ.

Lake Champlain is a freshwater lake, in Vermont that stretches north into Canada, and south towards New York.

The 109-mile-long (175km) lake has been called the American Loch Ness because both are deep, freshwater lakes said to date back more than 10,000 years.

WHAT IS ECHOLOCATION? The recording was made by cryptozoologists on Lake Champlain, Vermont. It was captured using a DolphinEar Hydrophone system that monitors echolocation. Echolocation, or biological sonar, is used by dolphins, bats, whales and other animals. Echolocating involves sending a call and listening to echoes to determine where various objects are around them. It is used for navigating and hunting and the calls are typically made using a series of clicks, as heard in the Champ video. Advertisement

At its deepest, Lake Champlain is 400 ft (121 metres) - compared to Loch Ness’ 744ft (227 metres).

Since 1609, there have been more than 600 reported sightings of the creature, which became a tourist attraction during the 1970s and 1980s.

It became so popular that a sign was erected in Port Henry listing the names of all people who claimed to have encountered the lake monster.

Many of the sightings have reported a creature with a ‘long sinuous neck’ and a humped body measuring between 15ft (4.5 metres) to 25ft (7.62 metres) long.

Ms Elizabeth and Mr Hall set up Champ Search to study, investigate and prove the existence of the monster.

Both claim to have become fascinated with the monster as children and in 1973, Hall was elected President of the Vergennes Chapter of the Vermont Archaeological Society and tasked to write the laws that protect archaeological sites in Vermont.

The noises were captured in July, near a region of the lake (pictured) known as Scotch Bonnet. Ms Elizabeth captured a second recording in October, but the two sound so different she is convinced the first was made by Champ and the second was of a beluga whale, or similar

Ms Elizabeth thinks believes Champ is a Tanystropheus, a dinosaur that lived 232 million years ago (skeleton pictured at the Paleontology Museum of Zurich) She said: ‘We don’t know if these reptiles could echolocate, it’s one of those things that no one really knows, but something [in the lake] is echolocating’

Ms Elizabeth believes Champ is a Tanystropheus, a dinosaur that lived 232 million years ago.

She told Motherboard: ‘We don’t know if these reptiles could echolocate, it’s one of those things that no one really knows, but something [in the lake] is echolocating.’

She added that other creatures have been discovered that were thought to have been extinct, and given the depths of the lake, this could be the case with Champ.

Mr Elizabeth has ruled out the fact that the loud clicking sound was made by a fish finder device, because the pair were alone on the lake at the time.

Lake Champlain is a freshwater lake, in Vermont that stretches north into Canada, and south towards New York (pictured). The 109-mile-long (175km) lake has been called the American Loch Ness because both are deep, freshwater lakes said to date back more than 10,000 years

Other theories claim the creature is plesiosaur reptile. But Tom Manley, a professor of geology at Middlebury College, Vermont said the sightings are likely ‘tall waves or boats’, while other experts have said the noises and sightings are from a sturgeon - a large fish that can grow up to 12ft (3.6 metres) long (pictured)

She also believes that the recording made in October was of a large fish, possible a beluga whale, and because the July recording was ‘so different’, she has also ruled out this theory.

Other theories claim the creature is plesiosaur reptile.

But Tom Manley, a professor of geology at Middlebury College, Vermont said that the sightings are likely ‘tall waves or boats’, while other experts have said the noises and sightings are from a sturgeon - a large fish that can grow up to 12ft (3.6 metres) long.

Last week, footage of a shadowy figure briefly emerging from the depths of Loch Ness in Scotland that once again fuelled speculation its legendary resident is alive and well.

The grainy footage shows a long and thin shape swaying in the water that bears a striking resemblance to Nessie’s fabled slender neck.

Since 1609, there have been more than 600 reported sightings of the creature, which became a tourist attraction during the 1970s and 80s.It became so popular that a sign was erected in Port Henry listing the names of all people who claimed to have encountered the lake monster

Last week, footage of a shadowy figure briefly emerging from the depths of Loch Ness in Scotland that once again fuelled speculation its legendary resident is alive and well. Richard Collis appears to have captured the footage of Nessie's head and neck emerging from the loch (pictured)

The video shows the object waving in the choppy water, around 500ft (152 metres) from the loch’s shore.

It was captured by Richard Collis - who counts himself among the most ardent Nessie cynics after years of fishing on the waters without a sighting.

But the tree planter was so taken aback by the mysterious shape he noticed while driving along the edge of the loch that he filmed it on his iPhone, and believes he might have stumbled upon the real deal.

The footage appears to show a long thin neck and head emerging from 500ft (152 metres) away from the shore of Loch Ness

Mr Collis said he thought the figure in the water was about 500ft away from the shore in the choppy waters

‘As I was watching, I was thinking what the hell is that?’ said Mr Collis, 58, who noticed the shape while travelling around a mile from Fort Augustus at the south-west end of Loch Ness.

He added: ‘I don’t really believe in anything like that until I see it.

‘I’m not saying it was a fire breathing dragon and I never saw teeth or anything like that, but I must have thought there was something there if I stopped to take pictures.’

SOME OF THE MOST FAMOUS 'SIGHTINGS' OF THE LOCH NESS MONSTER An online register lists 1067 total Nessie sightings. The list was created by Gary Campbell, the man behind the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club and is available at www.lochnesssightings.com Mr Campbell said: 'Jonathon's photo bears an incredible similarity to Bob Rines series of pictures and will certainly further stimulate discussion about this enduring legend.' Among the most famous claimed sightings is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson (below). It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged. This famous photograph, produced in 1934, was exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling In 2001 semi-retired photographer James Gray and friend Peter Levings took this while they were out fishing This picture, said to show the monster, was taken by Hugh Gray in 1933 and published in the Daily Express A close-up of what could be the Loch Ness Monster. The photo was taken by William Jobes in 2011 Advertisement

The footage, lasting two minutes in total, was taken last Thursday.

Mr Collis’s wife Vibeke, 60, added: ‘I’ve been here 37 years and my husband has been here his whole life, so we are completely aware of how unique this is. I couldn’t believe it and laughed when he showed me because I knew he could never set that up. He’s not very technical.’

The image will now join hundreds of other possible sightings that have amassed over the years, some of which have been confirmed to be fakes. Only last week, paranormal investigator Jonathan Bright published an image taken three years ago appearing to show the head of a monster in the loch.

But despite decades of speculation, the mysterious creature has so far proved little more than a myth.