![]() He discovered the juvenile mantas while conducting research on manta population structure at an underwater preserve, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, one of several underwater parks protected by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Stewart collaborated with colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries to publish the discovery in the journal Marine Biology in June. "This discovery is a major advancement in our understanding of the species and the importance of different habitats throughout their lives." ![]() "Identifying this area as a nursery highlights its importance for conservation and management, but it also gives us the opportunity to focus on the juveniles and learn about them," he added. "The juvenile life stage for oceanic mantas has been a bit of a black box for us since we're so rarely able to observe them," said Stewart. Now, Stewart & collaborators have shown that the sanctuary is the 1st documented manta nursery in the world: /e14BO6Iz3V- Sanctuaries (NOAA) June 20, 2018 ![]() What he didn't know is that young mantas are common there. When he first dove in Joshua Stewart was shocked to see a juvenile manta ray. Observing young mantas has been even more of a challenge since they are rarely observed in the wild, and humans have not had much luck finding where the young mantas congregate during their first days on Earth, according to a statement from the National Marine Sanctuaries. Scientists think this significant finding could help them study these gentle giants of the sea more closely than ever before, since mantas typically live out of reach, far from coastal areas, making their populations hard to access. The environment there is teeming with young mantas, newborns through adolescents of the giant oceanic manta species, Manta birostris. On a dive off the coast of Texas, he stumbled upon a place in the tropical waters that ocean experts now believe is the first ever-documented manta ray nursery that humans have come into contact with. "I was incredibly surprised because I had only seen a juvenile manta once before, and they're very rare in most field studies," said Stewart, a graduate student at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California in San Diego, in a statement. 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.As he drifted through the water in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, marine biologist Joshua Stewart spotted something few people will ever see in their lives: a young manta ray. 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. 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. 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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