Bumphead Parrotfish

The bumphead parrotfish is the largest parrotfish species in the world and one of Komodo's most unforgettable reef encounters. Schools of these massive fish, each weighing up to 75 kilograms, patrol the reef at dawn, using their enormous fused beak-like teeth to bite off chunks of living coral. The crunching sound of their feeding can be heard from a considerable distance underwater. In Komodo, large schools of bumpheads are a signature sight at sites like Tatawa Besar, where dozens of individuals move together like a slow-motion stampede across the reef. Their bulging foreheads, which males use to head-butt rivals during territorial disputes, give them a prehistoric appearance. Each bumphead parrotfish produces an astonishing amount of sand — up to 90 kilograms per year — as they excrete the ground-up coral skeleton after digesting the polyps. They are literally the creators of the white sand beaches that make tropical islands so appealing.