The new arrival was discovered by aquarium staff when they opened on Sunday.
Staff and visitors to the aquarium have watched the carpet shark in its opaque egg case develop during the past 14 months, along with up to a dozen more which have not yet hatched.
Senior aquarist Matthew Crane said it took between 12 and 18 months for carpet sharks to hatch from their egg cases.
These egg cases had been put in a small tank to incubate and had been a popular exhibit as people could often see the viable sharks wriggling inside their cases.
Staff were hoping more would hatch, he said.
The sharks grow to about 1m to 2m long.
The new arrival would be fed on a diet of plankton and small fish.
Carpet sharks get their name from their camouflage pattern, which enables them to blend in on the sea floor.
They are harmless to humans, and can live for up to 50 years.
