Scaridae; bumphead Bolbometopon muricatum
- Most 30 to 50 cm; bumphead parrotfish to 1.3 m and 45 kgSize
- Year round; bumphead schools in the early morningBest time
- Bumphead parrotfish Vulnerable (IUCN); most others Least ConcernStatus
What to look for
A fused beak of teeth, big scales in bright blues, greens and pinks, and a swimming style driven by the pectoral fins. Colours change with age and sex, which is why one species can look like three. The bumphead is unmistakable: dull grey-green, a bulging forehead and a pink face, usually in a school of twenty or more.
Sleeping in a bubble
On a night dive you can find parrotfish wedged into the reef inside a cocoon of their own mucus, which hides their scent from hunting moray eels and reef sharks. Shine the torch briefly and move on: a woken parrotfish has to rebuild its bubble. Reefs with healthy parrotfish numbers recover faster from bleaching, because the grazers keep the algae down so new coral can settle.
Where to see it
- Reef dive · Outer reef Milln ReefMax depth 5-25 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Gary’s GutMax depth 40 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Horse ShoeMax depth 20 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef The ChapelMax depth 20 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef The GardensMax depth 10 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Three SistersMax depth 20 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Turtle BayMax depth 22 m.
- Reef dive · Agincourt Reef Two RockMax depth 20 m.
Dive with us to see it
You might also see
- Māori wrasseThe reef’s gentle giant: two metres of blue-green fish with a hump on its head and a face full of tattoos, happy to follow divers around.
- SweetlipsStriped, spotted and thick-lipped, hanging in patient schools under the overhangs by day.
- Titan triggerfishThe biggest triggerfish on the reef, and the one with a reputation: give a nesting female a wide berth.
