Baby Giant Manta Ray

She came into the world rolled up like a tube and measuring six-feet-long.

A Japanese aquarium says it believes the newborn giant manta is the first ever born in captivity. Her mother gave birth after more than a yearlong pregnancy.

An aquarium official says little is known about the life of manta rays, and the record of pregnancy and the birth would provide valuable information.

Aquarium cameras recorded the birth. which was broadcast nationally on Japanese TV.

The mother was netted off Okinawa and has been living in the aquarium for nearly a decade.

—AP

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