A WOMAN and her partner made an unexpected discovery by Llandudno’s seafront yesterday (November 2) while holidaying in the town.

Nicola Jane and her partner, visiting North Wales from Merseyside, came across a Bull Huss, also known as a greater spotted dogfish or nurse hound shark.

They spotted it by the town’s bandstand at about 1.30pm, with Nicola admitting it was a first for her.

She said: “We were shocked, as we had never seen one before!

“It was found by my partner, right by the bandstand. Unfortunately, we didn’t ring anyone (to report the finding) as it was dead.”

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Frankie Hobro, director of Anglesey Sea Zoo, confirmed that it was a Bull Huss after being shown the above photos taken by Nicola.

She said: “They are lovely little sharks, and one of our more common British species. This is not a full-sized specimen, as they grow to an average length of 1.6m.

“They closely resemble the smaller, lesser spotted cat shark; both are common in the seas around us here in Wales and we have many of them in display in our shark and ray pool here at the sea zoo.

“Nurse hounds are nocturnal and usually hide inside small holes during the day, often stacked up alongside other members of its species.

“They feed on small bony fish including other sharks, crustaceans and other small marine prey such as squid and octopus.

“The nurse hound is classified as vulnerable, as some populations have significantly declined from overfishing.

“Like many other species of small British sharks and skates, the nurse hound shark reproduces by laying eggs, each containing a tiny live shark which grows safely inside the thick-walled egg case for seven to 12 months until it hatches.

“The egg cases are known as ‘mermaid’s purses’ and they are firmly attached to bunches of seaweed underwater when laid by the female shark.

“When the baby shark hatches out and swims off, the empty egg case becomes light and floats away, often being carried shore by waves and commonly found on the strand line on our beaches.”