Green humphead parrotfish

Bolbometopon muricatum

The green humphead parrotfish is the largest species of parrotfish, growing to lengths of 1.3 m and weighing up to 46 kg. It is found on reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea in the west to Samoa in the east, and from the Yaeyama Islands in the north to the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, in the south.
Bumphead Parrotfish School These are huge fish and it was very exciting when we encountered a school of about 15 fish while snorkeling off of the Andaman Islands. Interestingly, the local guide misidentified them as Napoleon Wrasse (alas, a cooler name) and it was only by chynce as I thumbed through my Tropical reef fish guide that I noticed the error. Bolbometopon muricatum,Geotagged,Green humphead parrotfish,Havelock island,India,andamans

Appearance

Unlike wrasses, it has a vertical head profile, and unlike other parrotfishes, it is uniformly covered with scales except for the leading edge of the head, which is often light green to pink. Primary phase colouration is a dull gray with scattered white spots, gradually becoming uniformly dark green. This species does not display sex-associated patterns of color change. The adult develops a bulbous forehead and the teeth plates are exposed, being only partly covered by lips. The species is slow-growing and long-lived , with delayed reproduction and low replenishment rates.

This species is gregarious and usually occurs in small aggregations, but group size can be quite large on seaward and clear outer lagoon reefs, exceeding 75 individuals.
Bumphead Parrotfish - Bolbometopon muricatum This Bumphead Parrotfish - Bolbometopon muricatum are a sight to see. They are usually found in a group/school and is the largest among Parrotfish. There are many interesting facts about this fish : 1. Due to the shape of their head, they keep bumping their head into the corals when they feeds, causing their head to have 'sore pinkish' markings. 2. They feeds on algae and corals but are not able to digest the 'hard corals' which they defecate to become fine sands. And this is what provide the beaches with powdery sands! 3. Because they feeds on aglae, their teeth can be very 'dirty' as algae grows on them. They then have to get it cleaned by Cleaner Wrasses. They do that by hanging out at 'cleaning stations' where the Cleaner Wrasses lives, and as they hover in the same position, the Cleaner Wrasses will approach them to start doing the cleaning, not only their teeth but also the gills where there can be other parasites. 4. Like all parrotfishes, they sleep at night. Some species of parrotfishes 'blows' a cocoon around them for protection and to prevent them from being eaten by their predators, mostly Sharks, that hunt them at night time. Check out this video of a different species of Parrotfish sleeping in its cocoon : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsdwuQn_K9k The picture in this Spotting include Divers to give a reference to their size, which can be up to 1.5 meters in length. Bolbometopon muricatum,Fish,Geotagged,Green humphead parrotfish,Malaysia,Parrotfish,Sabah

Naming

Other common names include bumphead parrotfish, humphead parrotfish, double-headed parrotfish, buffalo parrotfish, and giant parrotfish. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Bolbometopon''.
Bolbometopon muricatum -Bumphead Parrotfish Photo by my husband, Mark. These huge fishes are difficult to photograph , they like to go away into the big blue! Bolbometopon muricatum,Fall,Geotagged,Green humphead parrotfish,Philippines

Status

This species is highly sought after by fishermen throughout its range, and it has declined from overharvesting. Habitat degradation and destruction has sped the decline. Spearfishers and netters target the large groups as they sleep at night. This is a NOAA , thought to be threatened, but for which insufficient data are available to justify a listing under the Endangered Species Act.

Spearfishing while scuba diving was banned in American Samoa in 2001, but enforcement is limited. The waters surrounding Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, and Palmyra Atoll from the shoreline out to 50 fathoms are protected as low-use marine protected areas, which means any person of the United States fishing for, taking, or retaining this fish must have a special permit. Also, it may not be taken by means of spearfishing with SCUBA gear from 6 pm to 6 am in the US Exclusive Economic Zone waters around these territories. The population of the fish in Palau is now protected by an export ban and a national minimum size restriction of 25 in .
Bumphead Parrotfish - Bolbometopon muricatum This Bumphead Parrotfish - Bolbometopon muricatum are the largest among Parrotfish, growing up to length of 1.3 meters. They likes to congregrate in big numbers and over in Sipadan Island, in the early morning, as they wakes up from their night sleep, they starts to move to the shallow waters where they can find their favourite food - hard corals. They bite on hard corals where algae and other organism grows on them. They are not able to digest the hard corals which actually ended up as powdery sands when they poop. So, in essence, all the super fine powdery sands in nice beaches are mostly the shit of Parrotfishes! Bolbometopon muricatum,Fall,Fish,Geotagged,Green humphead parrotfish,Malaysia,Parrotfish,Sabah

Habitat

The juvenile green humphead parrotfish is found in lagoons, often in seagrass beds, and the adult is found in clear outer lagoons and seaward reefs up to a depth of 30 m. It feeds on benthic algae and live corals. It may ram its head against corals to facilitate feeding. Each adult fish ingests over five tons of structural reef carbonates per year, contributing significantly to the bioerosion of reefs. The fish sleeps in caves and shipwrecks at night, usually in large groups.
Bumphead Parrotfish - Bolbometopon muricatum Bolbometopon muricatum,Bumphead Parrotfish,Fish,Green Humphead Parrotfish,Palau,Parrotfish

Reproduction

The fish spawn pelagically near the outer reef slope or near promontories, gutters, or channel mouths during a lunar cycle, and they use spawning aggregation sites.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.

Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderPerciformes
FamilyScaridae
GenusBolbometopon
SpeciesB. muricatum
Photographed in
India
Malaysia
Philippines
Palau