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Whale Sharks and Manta Rays are still growing!

2011,1,1　category：Tank info

Body measurements of Whale Sharks and Manta Rays in the Kuroshio Sea Tank were carried out in December, 2010.

This Whale Shark is 'Jinta': body length 8.5 meters, estimated weight 5.5 tons

Body sizes of Whale Sharks

The biggest Whale Shark, ‘Jinta’: male, body length 8.5 meters, estimated weight 5.5 tons
The second-biggest male: male, body length 7.4 meters, estimated weight 3.1 tons
The smallest: female, body length 6.2 meters, estimated weight 1.8 tons

Body sizes of Manta Rays

The biggest Manta Ray: female, body width 4.5 meters, estimated weight 650kg
The second-biggest: two males, body width 3.5 meters, estimated weight 320 kg
The smallest: male, born summer 2008, body width 3 meters, estimated weight 200 kg and female, born summer 2009, body width 2.7 meters, estimated weight 130 kg

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  Measurement of Whake Sharks

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  Measurement of Manta Rays

Here is the one and only Aquarium in the world where you can observe Whale Sharks and Manta Rays growing day-by-day in captivity.

Don’t miss our Whale Sharks and Manta Rays which are still growing!

A world-first Display of “Glyphocrangon hastacauda”

2010,11,30　category：Tank info

We are happy to inform you that we are now exhibiting a rare deep-sea shrimp, knows as “Glyphocrangon hastacauda” in a tank at our Deep-Sea Small Life Corner from November 23, 2010.

This is very rare display and the shrimp is still in very good condition in our tank!
We hope to study it while it is alive in our exhibit, and learn more about it and its ecology.
In addition to this shrimp, we were able to collect many other very interesting and unusual Nagasaki-maru, Faculty of Fisheries Nagasaki University. They will be exhibited at our Aquarium depending on their conditions. Don’t miss them!

We have just recently had our 4th successful manta ray (Manta birostris) birth in captivity at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

2010,7,6　category：Tank info

We have just recently had our 4th successful manta ray (Manta birostris) birth in captivity at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.

Living in tropical and surrounding seas of the world, this is the largest-known species of ray , with a body diameter (disc width) estimated to reach over 6.7 m across. Commonly known as the Manta, it feeds on small fish, plankton, and other small organisms. We first began keeping Mantas in our tank in 1988, and for the first time in the world, we were successful in keeping a manta ray for a long time. In June, 2007, we had our first manta birth, and every year for the last four years in succession we have had a successful birth! This year’s birth is our fourth, and also the fourth birth in captivity in the world. The new baby Manta’s big brother and big sister, born in 2008 and 2009, are now on display together in the Kuroshio Sea Tank.

Date of Birth: June 26, 2010 7:21PM
Place of Birth: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Kuroshio Sea Tank)
Sex: Female
Birth Size: Body width (Disc width): 182 cm, weight 66 kg
Mother Manta: Captured by set-net off Yomitan, Okinawa, August 3, 1998.
Being kept as of June 26 for 11 years and 10 months.
Father Manta: Captured by set-net off Kanna (Ginoza), Okinawa, May 25, 1992.
Being kept as of June 26 for 18 years and one month.
*June, 2010 The Present

The mother Manta who gave birth last year was confirmed to have mated again on June 24th, so the term of pregnancy in mantas is about one year.

This year, just as last year, the birth occurred during open hours at our Aquarium, so our visitors gave the mother and baby a big round of applause and shouts of welcome!
Immediately after the baby Manta was born, the keepers lifted her out of the tank and transferred her to a sea pen, where she will be taken care of and continuously observed .This birth is an obviously important step on our way to understanding about the behavior and ecology of mantas. There are still mysteries to solve about the ecology of this species, so this research will provide us very important data.

KUROSHIO SEA: A Manta Family Reunion! A World-first Display of Manta Siblings (Big brother and Baby sister) in the Big Tank

2010,6,25　category：Tank info

A World-First Display of Manta Ray Siblings in Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium’s Kuroshio Sea Tank

Sister, far right, Brother, far left.

Scientific name: Manta birostris Common name: Manta Ray
Okinawan name: Gama kamanta
Living in tropical and surrounding seas of the world, this is the largest-known species of ray, with a disc width (body width) estimated to reach over 6.7 m across. Commonly known as the Manta, it feeds on small fish, plankton, and other small organisms. When we first began keeping Mantas in our tank in 1988, it was a world-first. Every year since 2007 we have had a Manta birth! In April 2009 we began displaying the parents and their son (a manta family) together for the first time.

The baby Manta now on display is the female individual born in the Kuroshio Tank on June 24, 2009. Immediately after birth she was transferred for safety to a floating cage about 2 km south of the Aquarium. Having grown satisfactorily, after a year she was brought back for display with her family in the Kuroshio Tank. It is only in our Kuroshio Tank that a brother and sister Manta are being displayed together.

Otohime’s Parasol A rare gigantic hydroid is now being exhibited at our Aquarium.

2010,3,19　category：Tank info

We are now exhibiting a rare deep-sea Giant hydroid in a tank at the Deep-Sea Small Life Corner. In Japanese, it is known as the Parasol of Otohime, the goddess with palaces at the bottom of the sea.。

It was found growing in a tank belonging to the Okinawa Prefectural Deep See Water Research Center on the coast of Kume Island. The hydroid is estimated to be about a year old, having entered the tank as an egg or larva, along with the water from the deep sea (612 meters).

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  Giant hydroid approx 20 cm tall on display at the Small Life Corner.
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  The Okinawa Prefectural Deep Sea Water Research Center. at Kume Island

A kind of Giant hydroid
Scientific name: Branchiocerianthus sp.　　 English name:Giant hydroid

This gigantic hydroid belongs to the Hydrozoa, a taxonomic group which is related to corals (Anthozoa) and jellyfishes (Scyphozoa). It was first found in1875, in deep water off the coast of Yokohama, dredged by the Challenger Expedition. It lives in sandy and muddy bottoms with water current, and tips its disk and tentacles in the direction of the current. Observers in the Japanese Manned Research Submersible, the “Shinkai 2000” have seen it using its tentacles to prey on fishes. It is very difficult to collect and keep in good condition.We hope to study it while it is alive in our exhibit, and learn more about its ecology.

This exhibit is extremely rare; please visit our Aquarium for this opportunity.

3 Years in a row! This year too, a baby Manta was born in the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Kuroshio Sea)

2009,9,29　category：Tank info

Now, we at Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium would like to inform you of the successful birth in captivity of a baby manta for the third year in a row (2007, 2008 and 2009).

Date of Birth: June 24, 2009 (Wednesday) 16:58

Place of Birth: Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (Kuroshio Sea) Big Tank, 35 m X 27 m X 10 m Deep, Volume 7,500 cu. m.

Individual Born: One female, Disk Width 192 cm, weight 70 kg

Mother Manta: Captured August 3, 1998, in a Yomitan Village Set-net Time in Captivity 10 years, 10 months*

Father Manta: Captured May 25, 1992, in a Kanna (Ginoza Village) Set-net Time in Captivity 17 years, 1 month*\

*(as of June 2009)

The mother which gave birth this year copulated last year on June 17, so gestation time was 372 days. This time, the birth occurred during open hours of the Aquarium, and the moment of birth could be observed by numerous Aquarium visitors. The anxiously anticipated Baby Manta was greeted with shouts of joy! Immediately after her birth, Aquarium staff removed her from the tank, and transferred her to a sea pen 2 km south of the Aquarium, where she is under continuous study and observation. Very little is known about this species, so with this birth, we hope to continue contribute to the knowledge of its ecology and natural history.

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