Characters: Colonies are flabello-meandroid and free-living. They are usually hourglass shaped, up to 80 millimetres in length with one to three separate mouths. Large, fully flabello-meandroid colonies are uncommon. Valleys have large regular septa and paliform lobes and a large columella of tangled spines. Polyps are fleshy. When tentacles are retracted during the day a large mantle extends well beyond the perimeter of the skeleton. This retracts if disturbed. At night tentacles in several rows are extended from the expanded oral disc inside the mantle. The mouth is approximately 10 millimetres across.

Colour: Polyps, especially the mantles, are often brightly coloured, usually yellow, brown, blue or green.

Similar Species: None.

Habitat: Inter-reef environments and on soft substrates around continental islands. Frequently found with other free-living corals: Heteropsammia, Heterocyathus Cycloseris and Diaseris. Large colonies are found only in certain protected, shallow island embayments.

Abundance: Rare on reefs, common around continental islands and some inter-reef areas.