As far as we can tell, the verdict is still out on the identity of the so-called Montauk Monster -- an unidentified dead animal whose photos first surfaced on the Web in July 2008, fueling wide speculation about what sort of creature it was. (Search for more photos.)

A decomposing dog? A dead raccoon? An experimental hybrid from the nearby government lab?

A really good Photoshop job?

The raccoon claim, ventured by Jeff Corwin, seemed plausible. Problem is, Corwin and others who offered up theories didn't have access to the animal's corpse, only photographs.

As for the body itself, well, it went missing from real-estate agent Eric Olsen's property, where, Olsen claims, it must have been stolen.

Adding further doubt to the story's credibility: The original source of the story was rumored to have been an e-mail sent by a public relations firm that specializes in viral marketing. (What's that?)

And then there was the theory advanced by Wired's Brandon Keim, who wrote that this was no monster, but the remains of a "dogfighting washout."