Shark ray - Rhina ancylostoma - by Cat from Nagoya, Japan

A rare shark, a shark-ray (Rhina ancylostoma), has traveled an astonishing 6,000 miles to end up at the Underwater Adventures which is located in the Mall of America. The purpose of its visit? Well this has to be a first in history.. It has traveled all this way to be a “stud”.

Yep, it’s true, this rare 6 month old shark is about to be pushed into becoming a father. It will be joining a female in the same aquarium, and it is hoped the two will hit it off well.

“We are really excited to have him. These guys are very rare to have in captivity and the fact that we have a pair is even more exciting,” said an employee with Underwater Adventures, Carol Byrns.

Byrns has suggested that the female shark, dubbed “Lola” would benefit from having a “Latin Lover” so they have sneakily named the male shark “Rico”.

“Rico” was reeled in as a baby by fishermen in Japan, and he won’t be going on display in the main aquarium just yet.

“He’s pretty small yet so he’s going to probably be in holding for quite a while until he grows up,” Byrns explained.

She went on to explain that should guests wish to view him, they will be able to do so if they take the “behind he scenes” tour offered by Underwater Adventures. So it appears that while “Rico” is expected to propagate the species with “Lola”, he is still not big enough to go on for show…

Shark-rays are noted for being extremely rare, and it should be noted that they have never been bred successfully in captivity.