Bumphead Parrotfish

Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC

Schools of bumphead parrotfish gather at Calanggaman's reef crest in the early morning, using their reinforced foreheads to ram living coral and their powerful beak-like teeth to grind it for the algae inside. They are among the largest reef fish in the Indo-Pacific, reaching up to 1.3 meters and 46 kg, and a single school can erode significant reef structure while depositing fine carbonate sand. Their reliable morning aggregation at Calanggaman is one of the site's most dramatic spectacles — the sound of bumpheads ramming coral carries underwater as a series of loud cracks.