The captive female in the OCA, however, mated with a male in the tank immediately after giving birth the female manta ray became pregnant again and gave birth the next year. alfredi usually takes a resting interval of at least 1 year between pregnancies. Based on the observation, the authors concluded that the duration from copulation to parturition was approximately 1 year, which were consistent with field observations. In addition, the copulating behavior was similar to that reported for Ogasawara wild mantas and the duration of clasper insertion into the cloaca was approximately 11 to 18 s. On June 17, 2008, the same pair gave birth to a male pup that was used in the present study. On June 8, 2006, a male mated with a female and on June 16, 2007, the female gave birth to a female pup (193 cm disc width and 68.5 kg body weight). For example, the OCA recorded the first captive reproduction of a M. alfredi individuals thrive since 1988 much information on the biology of this species has been generated in this aquarium. At the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium (OCA), M. Observations of captive specimens in aquariums enable us to obtain accurate information of the same individual over time. However, there is little information on their reproductive biology. Previous reports have provided some ecological information about manta ray species, such as distribution, movement patterns, courtship, mating behavior, gestation period, and reproductive periodicity. Both species were listed as globally vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Therefore, in the present paper, the genus “ Mobula” was adopted. mobular the authors noted that Manta is an invalid generic name. ![]() In a recent study, the mitochondrial genome analysis showed that both Manta species are nested within the other Mobula species and sister to M. Until recently, the genus Manta was considered mono-specific, but was redescribed in 2009 as comprising the reef manta ray, Manta alfredi (Krefft 1868) and the giant manta ray M. Manta ray-based ecotourism potential can be important for coastal communities, particularly in developing countries, where it can generate great economic benefits. Due to their tendency to aggregate predictably in relatively shallow waters around islands and along coastlines, they have become an attraction for recreational divers in many countries. As fully-grown adults, they are among the largest ray species. Manta rays comprise two species that occur in tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate waters around the world. As a first copulation was observed with 5 years 4 months of age and the presence of sperm were confirmed at the age of 5 years 11 months of age, the studied animal reached its full sexual maturity at the latest at the age of around 5 years. alfredi individual shows signs of sexual maturation (size of disc width, testosterone levels, reproductive behavior) already with the age of 2.5 to 3 years. Taken together, these results indicate that the captive male M. Seven months after copulation, we performed a biopsy to collect its semen, including any motile sperm. Its first copulation event was observed at 5 years and 4 months and appeared behaviorally similar to field observations. ![]() Then, at around 3 years of age, the male started to chase a female in the tank and exhibited androgen levels similar to that of another matured male, indicating that the study specimen had begun sexual maturation endocrinologically. ![]() ResultsĪt 2 years and 6 months of age, the male exceeded 300 cm in disc width. alfredi during its sexual maturation process. We investigated changes in external morphology, behavior, and levels of steroid hormones in a male M. In this study, we report the first case of a male reef manta ray, Mobula alfredi, becoming sexually mature in captivity and present its reproductive characteristics.
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