It was nice to see a marine themed quiz on yesterday evening’s Autumnwatch Unsprung. A lot of the visitors to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve who were asked to identify the mystery objects seemed to struggle. We have seen all of them during MNA trips on the Merseyside and Wirral coast.
Mermaid’s Purse – the egg case of Lesser Spotted Dogfish (Small spotted Catshark) Scyliorhinus canicula
The Shark Trust is asking members of the public to record any Mermaid’s Purses that they find washed ashore. This will provide valuable information on species abundance and distribution and information on the whereabouts of potential nursery grounds.
Egg case identification charts and how to record your finds can be found at http://www.sharktrust.org/en/great_eggcase_hunt
Heart Urchin a.k.a. Sea Potato Echinocardium cordatum
This species favours sandy shores feeding on organic deitrus
Sea Wash Ball – the egg case of the Common Whelk Buccinum undatum
Cartilaginous Bone from a Shark or Ray
