The recording was broadcast by NHK, Japans national broadcaster, on Sunday 17th June, showing the newborn female emerging "rolled-up" from its mother, before spreading out its 1.9m-wide fins. The birth of the Giant manta ray was witnessed, and recorded, by staff at the aquarium. Noriyasu Suzuki, of the Izu-Mito Sea Paradise commercial aqua zoo in western Japan, told the Washington Post that "aquariums that raise manta rays are rare to begin with", and so to have a successful captive birth from a mating that took place within the aquarium itself is a big achievement for the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The mother is 4.2m in width, and was taken in by the aquarium in August 1998 after hitting a fishing net off the island of Okinawa. The father, who is 3.5m in width, has been at the aquarium since May 1992. Minoru Toda, of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, told the Washington post that they hope to learn more information about the species through making "sure the baby grows in good health."Īquarium successThe parents of the young Giant manta ray are long-term inhabitants of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Mating was observed in the Kuroshio tank at the aquarium on June 8th 2006, meaning that the pregnancy took a total of 374 days. The bat ray also uses its lobelike snout to dig prey from sandy bottoms. An important benthic predator, it’s found in muddy and sandy-bottom bays, kelp forests and close to coral reefs. A bat ray flaps its pectoral fins in the sand to expose buried prey, like clams. However, a lot of information on the species is still unknown to science - and, with this being the first captive birth of a Giant manta ray, the staff at the aquarium hope to record some valuable data.Īlready for the first time, the duration of the pregnancy of the Giant manta ray is known. Natural history Those batlike wings also aid rays in the hunt for food. Valuable biological dataThe Giant manta ray is known to be the largest species of Manta ray, with the potential to attain a width of 6.7m. They are still only one of a few in the world managing to do so successfully. This is a second Manta ray-first for the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, which was the first public aquarium to keep these Manta rays in captivity almost 20 years ago when they started in 1988. The newborn Giant manta ray, a female, was 1.9m (over 6 ft) in width at birth " almost half the size of its mother! The birth of a Manta ray in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan on Saturday night is believed to be a world-first in captivity.
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