Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum).
Image: Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
At a glance
- IUCN category
- VU · Vulnerable
- Animal group
- Fish
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2025 global assessment of Bolbometopon muricatum says VulnerableChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The bumphead parrotfish is the largest parrotfish, a massive reef fish with a bulbous forehead. It is assessed as Vulnerable.
It bites off chunks of coral and helps produce reef sand.
Range & habitat
Coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Overfishing, especially night spearfishing
- Reef degradation
Why it matters
A huge reef grazer that shapes coral reefs and produces sand, the bumphead parrotfish is a flagship for reef health and sustainable reef fishing.
Gallery
Bumphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum).
Image: Rickard Zerpe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
Sources for Bumphead Parrotfish
- IUCN Red List — look up Bumphead Parrotfish (authoritative status)
- FishBase
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the bumphead parrotfish important to reefs?
It eats coral and algae in large amounts, controlling algae and grinding up coral into fine sand — a single big fish can produce a lot of the white sand found on reef beaches.
Why is the bumphead parrotfish Vulnerable?
Published assessments cite overfishing — it is easy to catch in numbers, especially by night spearfishing while it sleeps — and reef degradation. See the IUCN Red List.