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What the sources say

Green Humphead ParrotfishBolbometopon muricatum

Every figure, record and mechanism on the Green Humphead Parrotfish profile was written from a source, and this is the working table behind it: 36 claims checked word for word against these sources. The left column is what the page says. The right column is the source's own words, copied, not paraphrased; a ... marks a cut and[brackets] an insertion. Open any source and check it yourself.

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Source
01

FishBase

Bolbometopon muricatum, Green humphead parrotfish. FishBase.

The page saysIndo-Pacific coral reefs from the Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa
The source saysIndo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa and the Line IslandsNote: stats.habitat
The page saysdown to 40 m
The source saysdepth range 0 - 40 mNote: stats.habitat
The page saysAlgae growing on the reef, live coral and shellfish
The source saysfeeding on benthic algae, live corals (Ref. 9710 ) and shellfishesNote: stats.diet
The page saysIt is also the largest of the parrotfishes.
The source saysThe largest and wariest of the parrotfishes
The page saysFishBase lists a maximum length of 130 cm and a maximum published weight of 46 kg, with a common length of 70 cm measured without the tail fin.
The source saysMax length : 130 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710 ); common length : 70.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9793 ); max. published weight: 46.0 kg (Ref. 2334 )Note: common length is SL (standard length, excludes the caudal fin)
The page saysYoung fish are brownish to green with rows of whitish spots, then dull grey with white spots, gradually turning uniformly dark green.
The source saysColour of juveniles brownish to green with 5 vertical rows of whitish spots on side, the primary phase is a dull gray with scattered white spots, gradually becoming uniformly dark green
The page saysIt lives across the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa and the Line Islands, north to Wake and south to the Great Barrier Reef
The source saysIndo-Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa and the Line Islands, north to the Yaeyama and Wake islands, south to the Great Barrier Reef and New Caledonia
The page saysat depths from the surface to about 40 m
The source saysdepth range 0 - 40 m
The page saysIt feeds on algae growing on the reef, live coral and shellfish, and sometimes rams its head against coral to help it feed.
The source saysfeeding on benthic algae, live corals (Ref. 9710 ) and shellfishes (Ref. 58784 ). They sometimes ram their head against corals to facilitate feeding
The page saysFishBase notes they rest at night in caves and often in shipwrecks.
The source saysThey ‘sleep’ in caves and often in shipwrecks at night
The page saysFishBase records a maximum length of 130 cm and a maximum published weight of 46 kg. Its common length is 70 cm, measured without the tail fin.
The source saysMax length : 130 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9710 ); common length : 70.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9793 ); max. published weight: 46.0 kg (Ref. 2334 )Note: FAQ; common length is 70 cm SL

Source
02

Sadovy et al. 2025

Sadovy et al. (2025). Bolbometopon muricatum. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2025: e.T63571A264483873.

The page saysThe Red List rates the species Vulnerable.
The source saysIUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU).Note: IUCN status; Basics: GBIF copy of the Red List, assessed 2024

Source
03

Muñoz et al. 2012

Muñoz et al. (2012). Extraordinary Aggressive Behavior from the Giant Coral Reef Fish, Bolbometopon muricatum, in a Remote Marine Reserve. PLoS ONE.

The page saysThe biggest herbivorous fish on coral reefs
The source saysBolbometopon is the largest herbivorous fish on coral reefsNote: tagline
The page sayswhose males settle rivalries with headbutts
The source saysviolent headbutting contests by the world’s largest parrotfishNote: tagline
The page saysMales headbutt rivals with loud, jarring impacts
The source sayswe heard loud jarring sounds and confirmed they arose from violent impacts between males engaged in repeated, ritualized headbutting behaviorNote: stats.superpower
The page saysdivers heard loud, jarring sounds and traced them to male green humphead parrotfish
The source sayswe heard loud jarring sounds and confirmed they arose from violent impacts between males engaged in repeated, ritualized headbutting behavior
The page saysIn the early morning on the outer reef of Wake Atoll, in the western Pacific
The source saysImpact sounds and headbutting were documented on multiple occasions (five and two separate days, respectively) from approximately 0630–0815 hNote: Study sites were on the outer fore reef (Methods): 'We chose study sites along the outer fore reef'
The page saysusing their tail fins to slam their forehead humps together
The source saysmales utilized their caudal fins to rapidly collide with their cephalic humps
The page saysThen they swam fast in a half circle, each trying to bite the other's back and flank, swam apart and turned face to face for another collision.
The source saysimmediately followed by fast swimming in a semicircle where each fish tried to bite the back and flank of its opponent ... Following circling, fish swam apart in opposite directions and then turned again face to face to initiate additional collisions
The page saysIn one bout caught on video, four charges ended when the subordinate male fled.
The source saysconsisting of four, successive charges between two males. The first three resulted in impact ... and the fourth charge resulted in the subordinate male fleeing the contest
The page saysThe researchers knew of no earlier scientific record of ritualized headbutting in any marine fish.
The source saysto our knowledge, no scientific documentation of ritualized headbutting exists for marine fishesNote: 'To our knowledge' in source
The page saysThis is the largest herbivorous fish on coral reefs.
The source saysBolbometopon is the largest herbivorous fish on coral reefs
The page saysIt grows slowly, starts breeding late and replaces its numbers slowly
The source saysIt is slow-growing and long-lived with delayed reproduction and low replenishment rates
The page saysas a result even moderate fishing has led to severe declines in the size and numbers of fish across much of its range
The source saysAs a result, even moderate levels of exploitation have led to severe declines in size-structure and abundance of populations throughout much of its range
The page saysNight spearfishing grew with underwater flashlights in the 1970s, and in the western Solomon Islands it led to the disappearance of sleeping groups that had lasted for generations.
The source saysnight spearfishing increased with the advent of underwater flashlights in the 1970’s, and in the western Solomon Islands led to overexploitation and the disappearance of sleeping aggregations that had persisted and supported subsistence fishing for generations
The page saysOverfishing has made it shy of people: it has a name as the wariest parrotfish, and divers struggle to get close to one in most places.
The source saysOverfishing has led to a general avoidance of humans; it is known as the wariest of parrotfishes and in most locations individuals are difficult to approach underwater
The page saysAt Wake Atoll, males clash in repeated, ritualized headbutting contests, and researchers in the water heard the collisions as loud, jarring sounds.
The source sayswe heard loud jarring sounds and confirmed they arose from violent impacts between males engaged in repeated, ritualized headbutting behaviorNote: FAQ
The page saysMale green humphead parrotfish charge and slam their forehead humps together, and divers heard the collisions as loud, jarring sounds
The source sayswe heard loud jarring sounds and confirmed they arose from violent impacts between males engaged in repeated, ritualized headbutting behaviorNote: vibe.reason

Source
04

Muñoz et al. 2014

Muñoz et al. (2014). Spawning aggregation behavior and reproductive ecology of the giant bumphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, in a remote marine reserve. PeerJ.

The page saysOn Australia's Great Barrier Reef, one of these fish can wear away over 5 tons of reef rock in a year.
The source saysOn the GBR, Bolbometopon play an important ecological role where individuals are capable of bio-eroding over 5 tons of reef carbonate each yearNote: Reef carbonate = reef rock; GBR abbreviation expanded
The page saysFemales can live to 40 years, and it is the longest-lived parrotfish.
The source saysBolbometopon is the longest-lived parrotfish (females capable of reaching 40 years, Hamilton & Choat, 2012 )Note: Source cites Hamilton & Choat 2012 for the figure
The page saysGreen humphead parrotfish often sleep and feed in big groups in shallow water
The source saysoften sleeping and feeding in large groups in shallow water (1–15 m deep)
The page saysOn the Great Barrier Reef, schools of 30 to 50 are seen regularly.
The source saysschools of 30–50 individuals can be observed regularly
The page saysAt Wake Atoll the mating system was a lek: males arrived early and defended small territories, apparently to attract females, who came later in big schools.
The source saysThe mating system was lek-based, characterized by early male arrival at the spawning site followed by vigorous defense (including head-butting between large males) of small territories. These territories were apparently used to attract females that arrived later in large schools
The page saysThere, the fish spawned on mornings near the full moon and the last quarter moon.
The source saysspawning activities in the morning around the full and last quarter moon
The page saysNo parrotfish lives longer: a female can reach 40 years.
The source saysBolbometopon is the longest-lived parrotfish (females capable of reaching 40 years, Hamilton & Choat, 2012 )Note: FAQ
The page saysWake Atoll, in the western Pacific
The source saysWake Atoll, a remote and protected coral atoll in the west Pacific

How the table was made: a writer drafted the profile from these sources and logged each claim with its quote, a reviewer with nothing but this table checked every sentence said no more than its quote, and a script confirmed each quote appears word for word in the source. The method is in the site'sAbout page.