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Bolbometopon muricatum
The green humphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, is the largest species of parrotfish, growing to lengths of 1.3 m (4.3 ft) and weighing up to 46 kg (101 lb). 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.
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. Other common names include bumphead parrotfish, humphead parrotfish
Bumphead Parrotfish feeds among hard corals and defecates it in fine powdery 'sands' They tends to have algae growing on their teeth as seen in Pic 1, which makes them necessary to go for cleaning by Cleaner Wrasses
Spotted on Nov 11, 2012
Submitted on Mar 31, 2014
8 Comments
Glad you love it, @facundo1 :)
Yes, @Chun, you must go back to Sipadan, at least to snorkel.
Too bad you had a bad snorkeling experience, but am very sure you will be well taken care of in your next trip. You are right, it is best not to snorkel in waters that are too shallow, most snorkeler tends to stand on coral reefs in this situation and damages them :(
Thanks and you are most welcome, @Gilma, glad you enjoyed them :)
Beautiful it is huge, AlbertKang.
Thank you so much for sharing all those beautiful pictures of the world under the sea.
Yes, it has always been my dream to visit Sipadan, one of the greatest diving sites in the world. I hope I can find my courage to snorkel again. The last time (also the first time) I snorkeled, I bumped into some sharp corals and hurt my legs real bad. If I do snorkel again in Sipadan, I will make sure to go somewhere where the water is deeper so that the corals won't reach me. You can give me diving and snorkel tips sometimes :-)
Yes they are, @francesca1, the second pic was taken next to a diver, to give reference in size :)
Thanks, @Chun and @Antonio for the kind words :)
@Chun, you are so near to Sipadan, you have to go there, its guaranteed to see them, sometimes, you see the whole school of them, in the hundreds and you don't even have to be a scuba diver to see them, just by snorkeling will do :D
Like all Parrotfishes, they sleep at night usually at the same location, and early morning at sunrise, they started to move, so it is very predictable where they can be find :)
Great find Albert,you are posting amazing stuff ,very good work,congrats and thanks for sharing such a diverse ,beautiful and interesting spotting page
That is one huge spotting.
Thanks for sharing this.
Now I know how big the largest parrotfish species can be.