A SHARK appears to have washed up on the beach - prompting a debate over what species it is.

A member of the public discovered the sea creature on the pebbles near Brighton West Pier on Sunday, April 17.

The man was walking along the beach when he came across what he believes is a small-spotted catshark.

He said the deceased creature appeared to have been washed up onto the beach.

After he posted a picture of the creature on Facebook, other social media users began the debate over what species of shark it is.

“It’s a spiny dogfish I think. There are millions of them about at the moment. We do get a few huss fish round here and out at the wind farm or towards Eastbourne,” one said.

Another added: “I think it’s either the lesser spotted dogfish or a catshark.”

The Argus: Dolphin numbers are on the rise across Sussex Dolphin numbers are on the rise across Sussex

Last week, Adur and Worthing Councils called for the help of locals and visitors to Sussex to build up a picture of when and where dolphins are visiting the region.

“In the summer months, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and white-beaked dolphins are more and more frequently being spotted off the Adur and Worthing coast,” a council spokeswoman said.

“Despite the abundance of life off our stretch of coast, research into the habitats of large marine mammals in Sussex has been minimal.

“But this is something that Shoreham Port-based organisation Sussex Dolphin Project hopes to change - and it needs the public’s help.”

Thea Taylor, the project lead at Sussex Dolphin Project, said the overall number of sightings is growing across the county.

“We think that there were more dolphins here last year than there have been in the last three years,” she said.

“In the summer months, we get three or four sightings per week and last year we had 42 different sightings in total.

“The sightings help us understand the health of the population, determine which pods are interacting with each other and whether they are breeding.”

Through its citizen science scheme, Sussex Dolphin Project is hoping to encourage residents to send in photos and videos of any dolphins, porpoises or seals they spot while out on boats or on the beach this summer.

With this information, the organisation hopes to build a detailed picture of marine life in Sussex which it will use to develop conservation initiatives.