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Bumphead Parrotfish

Bolbometopon muricatum

Rank
Species
Dive sites
9 sites

The bumphead parrotfish is a massive, bulbous-headed parrotfish that grazes on coral reef surfaces, leaving distinctive feeding scars as it crunches through live coral and rubble. Solitary or in small groups, it favours deeper reef slopes and drop-offs down to around 60 metres, where its powerful jaws and grinding pharyngeal plates work constantly to extract algae and coral polyps. Its enormous head—the source of its common name—becomes more pronounced with age, giving older individuals an unmistakable silhouette.