Characters: Colonies are encrusting to slightly dome-shaped and up to 160 millimetres across. Corallites are cerioid, polygonal and 3-6 millimetres diameter. Septa are evenly spaced and usually fuse with each other in fan-like groups. They have fine, saw-like teeth. Columellae consist of one to four pinnules.
Colour: Pale grey with distinctive white corallite walls. Uniform brown in the western Indian Ocean.
Similar Species: Siderastrea savignyana, which has smaller corallites and forms large colonies. This species also resembles Coscinaraea and superficially resembles Coeloseris and Leptastrea. Coscinaraea has true affinities with Pseudosiderastrea but corallites are not cerioid and septa are coarser and have their own distinctive patterns. Coeloseris has no columella and has smooth sided septa which seldom fuse. Leptastrea has corallites separated by a groove, septa seldom fuse and only rarely do they have saw-like teeth.
Habitat: Very shallow water, attached to bare rock.
Abundance: Uncommon and cryptic.
Taxonomic Note: The type species of Pseudosiderastrea Yabe and Sugiyama, 1935.
Taxonomic References: Veron and Pichon (1980); Veron (2000a);
Identification Guides: Veron (1986a); Sheppard and Sheppard (1991); Nishihira and Veron (1995); Coles (1996); Chan, Choi, McCorry et al. (2005); Turak and DeVantier (2011b);
