The green humphead parrotfish 🐟

The green humphead parrotfish 🐟
Photo: 👌🏽
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The humphead parrotfish is usually found in small shoals, sometimes
consisting of up to 75 individuals, It feeds on a diet of live corals and
algae that grow on the ocean bottom, and uses its large bulbous head to ram
the coral to break it into smaller, more easily digested pieces. Its
beak-like front teeth and pharyngeal teeth at the back of the throat
adeptly grind down this food, reducing the hard coral to a paste and
breaking down the algae. Any hard, un-nutritious material is passed out in
the fish's faeces. As a consequence, adult humphead parrotfish, which are
estimated to consume five to six tonnes of coral each year, produce
substantial amounts of sediment and influence the structure of coral reefs,
playing an important role in the coral reef ecosystem.

Credit🐢: @underwater_images

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