Fish · Vulnerable
Bumphead Parrotfish
Bolbometopon muricatum
About
The green humphead parrotfish is the largest of all parrotfish, reaching lengths of 1.3 m (4.3 ft) and weights up to 46 kg (101 lb), with some sources citing a total length of 1.5 m and 75 kg (165 lb). It is the only species in the genus Bolbometopon, and fossils of Bolbometopon sp. are known from the Late Miocene of Sri Lanka.
- Family
- Scaridae
- Avg size
- 100-130 cm
- Behaviour
- Green humphead parrotfish feed on benthic algae and living corals, and are said to ram their heads against coral to aid feeding. Each adult consumes over five tons of reef carbonate a year, contributing heavily to reef bioerosion and earning the species a reputation as a keystone organism. At night they sleep in large groups among corals, in caves, and in shipwrecks. Males sometimes engage in ritual combat, charging and colliding head-on hard enough to produce loud jarring sounds, then carrying the fight on by trying to bite each other's bodies.
Where & when