A Japanese aquarium has become the privileged home of the world’s first manta ray born in captivity.

The Churaumi Aquarium of Okinawa, a southern Japanese island province, announced Monday on its Web site (www.kaiyouhaku.com) that a baby manta ray had been born in captivity.

The baby is a female, about 1.9 m in width, according to the aquarium’s announcement. The father has been with the aquarium since 1992, while the mother has been there since 1998.

The gestation period was of 374 days.

Manta rays, also called giant manta, are the largest of the rays. They can grow to over 2 meters in length. Manta rays live in tropical seas around the world, feeding on plankton and small fish.

The largest specimen ever identified measured nearly 7.6 meters and weighed almost 3,000 kg.

Aquarium official Minoru Toda said: “We unfolded some of the mysteries about the life of manta rays, including the length of their pregnancy. Now we have to make sure the baby grows in good health.”

The aquarium personnel also filmed the birth giving of the baby manta ray. In the video, the manta ray slides out of the mother completely rolled up and then unfolds and starts swimming in the fish tank.