Bumphead parrotfish
Bolbometopon muricatum
Sighting evidence at Avana Passage Rarotonga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Photo: Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC
The largest parrotfish species and one of the most ecologically important herbivores on Indo-Pacific reefs. Bumphead parrotfish bite directly into living coral skeletons with their fused beak-like teeth, processing the calcium carbonate and excreting it as fine white sand. A school of bumpheads can produce hundreds of kilograms of sand per year and plays a major role in shaping reef structure.
Evidence at this site
No confirmed records on file at this site
Bumphead parrotfish is listed as a curated species here based on historical reports.