Characters: Colonies in turbid water may attain great sizes. They are composed of thick upright or prostrate branches covered with short, stubby sub-branches. Main branches may be highly fused in some geographic regions. Horizontal branches may have no branchlets on the undersurface. Axial corallites are small. Radial corallites are either immersed or uniformly tubular over the whole colony.
Colour: Usually browns, occasionally bright green. The dominant colour varies geographically.
Similar Species: Acropora vermiculata, which has scale-like radial corallites.
Habitat: Shallow reef environments.
Abundance: Common.
Taxonomic Note: A species complex.
Taxonomic References: Wallace (1978); Veron and Wallace (1984); Wallace (1999); Veron (2000a); Wallace, Done and Muir (2012);
Identification Guides: Veron (1986a); Nishihira and Veron (1995); Pillay, Terashima, Venkatasami et al. (2002); Turak and DeVantier (2011b);
