Characters: Colonies are spherical, columnar, hillocky or flat and may be several metres across. Corallites are evenly distributed and conical, with thick walls and small openings. Costae are equal and well developed. Those of adjacent corallites do not join. A crown of paliform lobes is usually clearly visible.
Colour: Uniform brown or green.
Similar Species: Does not resemble other Favia and growth-form alone makes this species distinctive underwater. Paramontastraea salebrosa is most similar but forms massive colonies and has corallites with numerous closely compacted corallites. See also Plesiastrea versipora, which also has extratentacular budding.
Habitat: Shallow reef environments where water movement is strong.
Abundance: Common.
Taxonomic Note: Placed in genus Dipsastraea by Budd, Fukami, Smith et al. (2012) and Goniastrea by Huang, Benzoni, Fukami et al. (2014). Probably warrants a separate genus.
Taxonomic References: Wijsman-Best (1972); Veron, Pichon and Wijsman-Best (1977); Huang, Benzoni, Fukami et al. (2014);
Identification Guides: Randall and Myers (1983); Veron (1986a); Sheppard and Sheppard (1991); Nishihira and Veron (1995); Pillay, Terashima, Venkatasami et al. (2002); Turak and DeVantier (2011b);
