BABY CATSHARK BORN AT BRISTOL AQUARIUM

The Aquarists at Bristol Aquarium, have been celebrating since the birth of a baby shark, with more due to be hatched soon.

The tiny shark, a member of the native catshark family, is thriving in a special nursery tank at the aquarium - safely away from the attentions of its larger cousins.

Staff at the Harbourside attraction say they are expecting many more births over the coming weeks.

Olivia Orchart, Displays Supervisor at Bristol Aquarium, said: “It’s been absolutely fascinating to watch the tiny shark embryos developing inside their egg-cases.”

“As they get closer to hatching you can clearly see them wriggling about and trying to find a way out. Once they do finally emerge they are pretty much fully formed miniature versions of their parents,” she added.

When young catsharks eventually hatch, after spending up to 11 months developing inside the egg-case, they are about 10 centimetres long.Once the sharks have hatched the empty egg-cases, commonly known as mermaids’ purses, are often found washed ashore on British beaches.

“The egg-cases produced at the aquarium are first removed by divers from the larger shark display and then transferred to nursery displays,” said Olivia.

“All hatched baby sharks spend up to 12 months in their nurseries until they grow large enough to join the adults,” she added.

The small-spotted catshark or rock salmon as it is sometimes called, found from the north east Atlantic to Senegal, can reach lengths of up to 1metre when fully grown and is an important species for commercial fishermen.

Catsharks feed on crabs, shrimps and shellfish as well as small fish. Females give birth to pairs of eggs and can produce between 40-50 eggs each year.