Characters: Colonies are cerioid and usually small but sometimes over 1.5 metres across. Corallites have irregular shapes and sometimes form short valleys with several centres. Colonies have moderately fleshy tissue over the skeleton.
Colour: Red, cream and brown, with walls and oral discs of contrasting colours; sometimes mottled.
Similar Species: Acanthastrea ishigakiensis and Sclerophyllia maxima, both of which have relatively fleshy polyps. These species may be difficult to distinguish in situ.
Habitat: Shallow reef environments.
Abundance: Common only in high latitude locations.
Taxonomic References: Wells (1955a); Chevalier (1975); Veron and Pichon (1980); Veron (2000a);
Identification Guides: Veron (1986a); Nishihira and Veron (1995);
