Giant reef fish found to be marine head-butters

Monday, June 11, 2012 - 07:01 in Biology & Nature

(Phys.org) -- Because humans have a history of disrupting marine environments when they move into an area, mainly due to overfishing, few places in the oceans of the Earth remain as they were before people arrived. And because of that, it’s been difficult for biologists to observe some species of fish in their so-called natural environment. The aptly named giant bumphead parrotfish is just one such example. It’s the largest species of parrotfish in the world and one of the largest of all reef dwellers. At one time it was also very common. But like many other species of fish, its numbers have dwindled to the point where it’s now on the endangered list and over time has learned to fear the presence of human beings. And it’s likely for these two reasons that until now, no one had seen, or at least documented, an important ritual performed by the...

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