World's First! Black Manta Born in an Aquarium Now on Display!

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is pleased to announce the world’s first exhibit of an aquarium-born black manta (AKA: Alfred manta).

≪Alfred manta≫
Scientific name：Mobula alfredi

The black manta, or Alfred manta, Mobula alfredi, is the second largest species of ray, the largest being the giant manta. It is mostly distributed south of Okinawa, in temperate and tropical waters of the Indo Pacific. It feeds on tiny zooplankton by extending its cephalic fins which funnel the plankton into its mouth. Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium was the world’s first aquarium to successfully breed a black manta. After monitoring its gestation for a year, the black manta was born.

Mother and baby black manta (Just after birth)

The baby black manta was born in The Kuroshio Sea Tank on August 5th, 2024. The body of the mother manta is also completely black. This is the first time in the world where a black manta mother has given birth to a black manta in an aquarium. After its birth, it was reared in the aquarium’s research facility’s set net. It is growing steadily, and its disc width now measures 216 cm, and it weighs 79 kg. This aquarium is the only place in the world that can show a mother and baby black manta at the same time.

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium will continue to study the baby black manta’s growth and will share any new scientific knowledge. Through continued rearing, we hope to aid in the conservation and ecological understanding of this species.