The Manta Ray (Mobula birostris, formerly Manta birostris), specifically the Giant Oceanic Manta Ray, is a large cartilaginous fish. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon 2 and Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania Mobile.
Description[]
The Giant Oceanic Manta Ray is the largest species of ray, with a width of up to 7m (23ft) and a weight of up to 1300kg (3000lbs). Like other rays, giant oceanic Manta Rays have a skeleton made out of cartilage, like their close relatives, sharks. Unlike most other rays, which live on the sea floor, giant oceanic manta rays are pelagic, migrating across the open ocean in search of zooplankton and small fish, which they catch by filter feeding. A giant oceanic manta ray can eat 13% of its body weight each week.
Giant Oceanic Manta Rays are found in temperate, subtropical and tropical waters worldwide, but they will also visit coral reef "cleaning stations" to have parasites removed by cleaner fish and shrimps. They have been known to breach, much like whales, although the exact reason for this is unclear. Giant Oceanic Manta Rays are classed as endangered and have been fully protected since 2011.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The Manta Ray is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon and was added as part of the Marine Mania expansion pack. In Freeform mode, it is not adoptable until September 1. It features in several scenarios.
Like all Marine Mania animals, the manta ray is an Aquatic animal and requires a lot of foliage and rocks, it also likes the Seafloor Cave for a shelter. The manta ray's favorite foliage is the fire coral, and It can live comfortably in a shallow tank. The manta ray feeds on krill and if their happiness is high they may occasionally do somersaults.
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
The Manta Ray is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon 2 and was added as part of the Marine Mania expansion pack. In Campaign and Challenge mode, it is available for adoption from the start, as it has a star rating of half a star.
The manta ray is a Reef animal, alongside the Blacktip Reef Shark, but will also tolerate the Coastal and Pelagic biomes. It is a relatively low maintenance animal and has the smallest space requirements of all fully aquatic animals, allowing it to live in smaller-than-usual tanks. Manta rays will also breach, which satisfies their hygiene need, and can be mixed with many different animals, including the Blue Marlin, Green Sea Turtle and West Indian Manatee.
In Challenge Mode, there are two Manta Ray specific missions available from the beginning of a game: "Manta Ray Breaching" rewarding the player $1,250 for taking a photo of a Manta Ray breaching, and "Worldwide Rays" rewarding increased zoo fame and attendance for purchasing three Manta Rays.
The manta ray is unique in that its eyes are actually able to move as the animal looks around. They are the only animal in the game to have this unique quality, which is achieved by alterations to the normal blinking coding.
Unused variants[]
Unused variant one, being darker in colour than the standard skin and having unfinished seam lines.
Unused variant two, which is much more complete with white markings on the animal's dorsal side.
The manta ray has two unused variant skins, one is an unfinished, darker skin by the name of "RayManta.DDS" with no equivalent sick or dirty textures. The other variant skin, by the name of "RayManta_Adult_F_B.DDS" is also darker but is much more complete, having white stripes on the animal's dorsal side and a different spot pattern on its underside. The second variant skin also has sick and dirty textures.
The reason why these two skins don't show up in game is because they are not named properly for the game to read them, variants normally having a "_1" or "_2" extension at the end of their name, which tells the game that the skin is a variant.
 zootycoon.com Description
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| The largest of the rays, the manta ray is a cartilaginous fish and a relative of the shark. Called the devil ray or sting ray, manta rays are harmless to humans and do not sting. Because of their large size, sharks are their only predators. Manta rays live in temperate and tropical waters near continents and island groups. Cruising near the ocean’s surface, the manta ray uses the two lobes near its eyes to guide plankton, tiny fish, and small crustaceans into its mouth. Manta rays are elegant and acrobatic swimmers. Swimming underwater they look like a slow-moving bird in flight, and they are also known to leap out from the water. |
Gallery[]
Zoo Tycoon 2[]
Trivia[]
- The manta ray in Zoo Tycoon 2 bears some similarities to the related reef manta ray, as opposed to the giant oceanic manta ray that the game describes it as. This may be due to the reef manta ray having been discredited as a proper species at the time of the expansion's creation, though the species name was resurrected in 2009.
- Manta rays in Zoo Tycoon 2 are coded with an 85% chance of giving birth to two pups and a 15% chance of having only one pup. This is odd as manta rays in real life typically give birth to only one pup at a time, twins being more rare.
- On rare occasions, the manta ray in Zoo Tycoon 2 may breach incredibly high; this is not an intended feature and is just a rare bug.
- The manta ray has three breaching animations, one where the animal lands on its head, one where the animal lands on its tail and a third where they do a mid-air somersault.
- The manta ray's scientific name used in all appearances in the Zoo Tycoon franchise is no longer accurate, as the manta ray was reclassified to Mobula birostris in 2017 after a DNA study found that all members of the genus Manta actually belonged to the genus Mobula.
| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile animals | |
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| Zoo Tycoon 2: Mobile | African Elephant • Bengal Tiger • Black Rhinoceros • Cheetah • Chimpanzee • Giant Panda • Giraffe • Lion • Lowland Gorilla |
| Marine Mania Mobile | Bottlenose Dolphin • Giant Pacific Octopus • Great White Shark • Green Sea Turtle • Manta Ray • Orca • Rockhopper Penguin |