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Weirdly adorable sea creatures born in Sweden

The Local Sweden
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Weirdly adorable sea creatures born in Sweden
One of the thornback rays. Photo: Roger Jansson/Havets Hus

The latest additions to the Havets Hus aquarium in Bohuslän, on the west coast, are nothing short of adorable: Two tiny, tiny thornback rays, whose see-through baby flesh reveal pretty much all of their little body-parts, including their small fins and legs.

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The extinct ray fishes were born a few weeks ago, after the aquarium’s first ever baby thornback ray – born in 2016 – died.

“The reason was most likely that the water was too cold at the time because the baby didn’t eat very well. So the new babies will be kept in warmer waters,” the aquarium said.

The thornback ray fish is an extinct species in both Nordic and European waters and Havets Hus is breeding them in a bid to help preserve the unusual animal. 

One of the main dangers for the creature is that it is easily caught up in fishing nets, and even though the fishermen will cut it lose and let it back into the sea, it is so fragile that it often doesn’t survive the ordeal.

“Already at the age of one it is so big that it can be caught by mistake,” the aquarium explained, but noted it has not embarked on an easy breeding project.

“Observations in the aquariums at Havets Hus indicate that the ray fish in captivity only reproduce once every two years, and it’s not impossible that that is also the case out at sea,” it said.

“The hope is that this will work.”


Its eye. Photo: Roger Jansson/Havets Hus


A thornback ray seen from above. Photo: Roger Jansson/Havets Hus

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